17 July 2014 | travelweekly.co.uk business Essential news, comment and analysis TOP STORY


BOOKINGS HIT BY FALL IN CONFIDENCE


A drop in holiday booking intentions could lead to a fall in revenues


THE LATEST HOLIDAY CONFIDENCE INDEX FROM FIRST RATE


SUGGESTS A DIP IN THE OUTLOOK FOR BOOKINGS. IAN TAYLOR REPORTS


Consumer confidence to book holidays has slipped since the spring, with First Rate’s Holiday Confidence Index showing a one-point fall on March. The decline is disappointing


after the last index revealed a two-point rise on September 2013, reflecting growing confidence in the UK economy.


The index, launched last year, is based on a survey of more than 5,000 UK consumers. The


72 • travelweekly.co.uk — 17 July 2014


results are used to produce indices on holiday-booking intentions, frequency, duration and spending, and allow First Rate to compile an overall ‘confidence index’. The summer index, based


on research in June, shows a one-point fall on March to 43, reflecting a small decline in intention to book overseas holidays among those who have travelled in the past 12 months. The index remains up on last


September when it was 42. Alistair Rennie, head of


innovation and insight at First Rate, described it as “a bit of a disappointment”. “It’s a small fall after an


increase and not what was expected,” he said. “But the index is largely stable.” The index revealed a two-


point fall (from 71% to 69%) in CONTINUED ON PAGE 70


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