analysis
Winter warmers
Karl Cushing takes a look at key trends in the winter sun market and finds out where holidaymakers are heading this year
T
hese days, long lines of sun-searching Brits at airports are as much a part of our winter season as dark, drizzly days and
turkey leſtovers. According to ABTA the number of winter holiday bookings for 2016/17 was up by 16% year-on-year, with 29% of us planning to take a winter break of some kind. This trend was led by the 25-34 age group, followed by over 65s. Of these bookings, winter sun breaks were by far the most popular, accounting for nearly a third (31%) of all holidays. Moreover, ABTA estimates more than 4.5
million of us headed abroad between 18 December 2016 to 2 January 2017, suggesting the pull — or implied obligation — of spending the festive period at home is not what it once was. While the lure of winter sun is nothing new,
historically such breaks have lacked the diehard appeal of the traditionally sacrosanct summer holiday — although this may be changing. Edward Light, head of commercial at Caribtours, where winter sun bookings account for around 70% of business, says that while these breaks might not be taking over from the main summer holiday for families, this could be the case for the rest of
the market, not least as they increasingly tend to be long haul and therefore a longer duration and higher value than in times past. Prestige Holidays’ director and general
manager David Skillicorn also thinks more people are choosing winter over summer for their main holiday. Indeed, Skillicorn says his company is only seeing long-stay, 14-nights-plus holidays being taken in the winter months — and more so each year.
HOT OR NOT? Destination-wise, ABTA notes in recent times winter bookings have followed ‘a broadly similar’ patern to those of summer. Thus while the former winter hotspots of Tunisia and Egypt remain off the radar for most — and Turkey continues to experience a dip in its fortunes — there has been a significant shiſt in focus towards the Western Mediterranean, stretching both its capacity and rates. According to analyst GfK’s Travel Leisure
Monitor, Spain, the UK’s most popular winter holiday destination, saw bookings up 33% year-on- year for the 2016/17 winter sun market while
countrybycountry.com | ABTA Magazine
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