NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
Three out of five respondents
(62%) aged 25-34 intend to have at least one overseas holiday in the next year and 59% more than one. The Holiday Confidence
Index (HCI) is a composite of six indices which measure consumer holiday intentions, the likely frequency and duration of holidays, amount of money to be taken abroad and spending in destination. The previous index, published in July, found a fall in overall confidence amid a deepening divide between the holiday ‘haves’ and 'have-nots’. Abta found a similar
division among households in its Holiday Habits Report, published at this month’s Travel Convention, with the proportion of UK adults taking any kind of holiday over the previous 12 months falling (Travel Weekly, October 22). First Rate says families are
cutting back, with its report noting: “The greater the number of children, the fewer holidays people will take.” Three-quarters (74%) of
those not intending to have an overseas holiday in the next year said other financial priorities were more important. Alistair Rennie, First Rate
Exchange Services head of strategy and innovation, said: “There is a hardcore of people intent on travelling and those numbers remain pretty consistent.” He described the number of bookings already as “encouraging” but referred to the one in five undecided about taking a holiday abroad, saying: “The challenge will be to convince this growing number to book.”
• The First Rate Winter 2015 Holiday Confidence Index is
based on an online survey of 5,319 UK adults by YouGov in September. It is available from: HolidayConfidenceIndex@
firstrate.co.uk
Holidaymakers ‘continue to restrict travel budgets’
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
Holidaymakers display no signs of increasing spending, with the First Rate Holiday Confidence Index reporting “clear evidence that consumers are tightening their belts”.
The Winter 2015 Confidence
Index, published this week, reports year-on-year falls across three holiday-spending measures – the cost of booking, the amount of money consumers plan to take abroad and their spending in destination, with two point declines in each. First Rate suggests this confirms
“holidaymakers are restricting their budgets”, although two of the three indices are one point higher than in the summer. More than half of those planning
to travel overseas plan to spend no more on booking than in the past year, while 60% said they would not spend more in destination. The results are disappointing
in light of recent figures showing average wages rising, while UK inflation was flat in September. The report on the index also
Euro exchange rate fails to boost eurozone demand
The pound’s strength against the euro has failed to boost demand for holidays in the eurozone over the coming year, according to the latest Holiday Confidence Index from First Rate. Yet demand for the US is up
despite the increase in the value of the dollar against the pound. First Rate found a four-point
76
travelweekly.co.uk 29 October 2015 SPLASHING OUT: Only the 25-34 age group appear to be spending more 60% More positively, two out of five
Proportion of Brits who plan not to spend more in destination than on last holiday
identifies “lingering doubts” about the extent of the recovery in the UK economy and household finances, with a four-point fall to 29% in adults confident of further improvement in the economy. It reports a one-point drop to 23% in those expecting their personal finances to improve.
fall in the proportion of 5,000- plus survey respondents planning to book holidays to eurozone destinations in the next 12 months, although two out of three still plan to travel to the area. It suggests a decline in sterling’s
value against the euro since its summer peak above €1.40 could have dampened demand, although the pound was at €1.39 at the start of this week. First Rate notes that demand for European destinations outside the eurozone seems strong. By contrast, 10% of respondents planning a holiday said they
respondents (40%) felt their jobs to be secure over the coming year and only 17% insecure. At the same time, concern about
the impact of rising interest rates has fallen. First Rate found just 16% of respondents felt a rise in rates would adversely affect their holiday plans, against 24% a year ago. Alistair Rennie, head of strategy
and innovation at First Rate Exchange Services, said: “Travel firms would obviously like to see the amount spent on bookings moving upwards. Disappointingly, there is nothing to suggest this is happening. Commitment-free 25 to 34-year-olds are the exception.”
will visit North America, up two percentage points on the summer and one point on a year ago. First Rate also found a rise in demand for Asia, with 4% saying their first holiday would be to the region, double the rate this summer. However, demand for the Middle
East may be suffering from security fears. First Rate found just 1% of holidaymakers would choose the region for their first holiday, down from 3% a year ago, reflecting falling demand for Egypt and the UK withdrawal from Tunisia.
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