Just


Married


special report


Love is in the air A


Debbie Ward takes a look at current trends in wedding and honeymoon travel, from multi-centre trips to mini-moons


round 4% of us are planning to attend an overseas wedding this year, according to consumer research conducted for


ABTA by market research agency Arkenford. And the good news for agents is that celebrations both home and away seem to be getting larger and incorporating more bells and whistles. A 2016 Mintel report, Attitudes Towards


Weddings, found that although the number of UK marriages has declined over the past 40 years, there’s a trend for bigger and more extravagant weddings. It concluded: ‘For many of today’s brides and grooms, the focus for their wedding day is on having fun with their guests … from less formal food service options to funfair-type rides.’ Some operators, particularly at the luxury end


of the market, have noted overseas weddings are following suit and becoming increasingly extravagent. Caribtours has seen a rise in requests for private islands, and for catering in hotels with top restaurants, while Kuoni is being asked more than ever before for reception extras such as photo booths — more usually associated with UK weddings. Kuoni wedding planner Sam Berry says: “We’re getting more and more detailed reception queries for larger groups; a lot more pre-planning now than we previously would’ve had.” For its mid-market bookings, Planet Holidays


deals with widely varying group sizes, including a current booking for 70 adults and 30 children. “I’ve suggested the Atlantida in Cyprus so they can get married on the beach, have a reception in a taverna and I can book a bouncy castle and a clown,” says managing director Mathilde Robert. A Bollywood-themed wedding on Crete is also in the works. She says couples are now much more hands-on, and points out that while destination weddings are often better value, celebrations with all the trimmings still don’t come cheap. An increase in countries legalising same-sex


marriage has also boosted the overseas weddings market, with the US a significant option since 2015. Planet recommends Portugal for same-sex weddings, where it’s seen demand boom, while in Malta, civil partnerships are possible. Kuoni, for whom Italy is the fourth-most-


popular wedding destination, after Mauritius, St Lucia and Antigua, says Italy’s historic buildings are proving particularly attractive to couples favouring non-beach nuptials. However, Planet’s


26


ABTA Magazine | April 2017


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