The news follows both the collapse of Monarch and Ryanair’s mass flight cancellation last year, highlighting British holidaymakers’ uncertainties about their travel providers.
According to the report, 52% of Britons do not feel confident that they would get a refund if their provider went out of business. Likewise, just two in five believe they understand the laws about refunds Ôvery well’, with one in five responding Ônot at all’. 56% would even pay a small fee on top of the cost of airline tickets to ensure cover, suggesting a need for more information and greater transparency from travel providers in this area.
Holidaymakers are keen to learn about sustainable travel
Another significant area of interest for British holidaymakers was sustainable travel. 77% said they would like to know more about sustainable standards at their destination, whilst 80% would proactively help a destination achieve sustainability standards on their next holiday. 45% said they would avoid the use of single-use plastic and 44% said they would limit water use Ð a significant finding,Êgiven the current droughts in popular tourist destinations Cape Town and California. The report also revealed a general feeling amongst holidaymakers that travel companies, local authorities and country governments all need to play a role in delivering sustainable tourism standards.
Safety concerns are dropping
On the other hand, safety proved less of a concern for holidaymakers this year. Just 36% cited safety as a strong consideration, compared to 40% in 2017 and 42% in 2016. Safety perceptions of Paris and Istanbul have both risen (with 53% and 20% respectively considering them very safe, compared to just 37% and 13% in 2017), as have the number of intended holidays to France and Turkey.
BDRC’s free Holiday Trends report is published annually and is available for download at https://www.bdrc-group.com/projects/holiday-trends-2018/.
