Nearly one in three Brits altered their holiday plans to be in the UK for Thursday’s General Election

15% of Brits have planned their summer holidays around the Euros and Olympics

85% of Brits plan to spend as much or more on travel in the next 12 months as they did in the past 12 months, indicating a strong outlook for the travel and holiday sector

MANCHESTER, England, July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The announcement of the snap UK general election in May prompted nearly a third of Brits to alter their holiday plans, according to new consumer research from Travel Counsellors, the UK’s largest and fast-growing technology platform for travel entrepreneurs that connects over 2,000 independent business owners.

Despite the influence of the General Election on some people’s holiday plans, the consumer research also indicated that the travel sector is set to remain in rude health over the next 12 months, with 85% of people saying that they will spend as much or more on travel in the next year as they did in the last year. Moreover, the data indicated that travel remains Brits’ top spending priority over the next year, ahead of other discretionary categories such as fashion, eating out, and home and garden renovations.

The survey of 2,000 nationally representative respondents found that:

16% of Brits said they have altered their holiday plans to be in the UK at the time of the general election so that they could vote in personA further 14% of Brits said that they had altered their holiday plans to be around in the build-up and at the time of the general election as it’s an important moment for the UKAdditionally, 15% of Brits said that they had planned their summer holidays around the Euros and Olympics, including choosing destinations where they can watch the matches and competitions in person. This is backed up by Travel Counsellors’ own booking data, with a more than doubling in customer bookings for departures to Germany in June.

Steve Byrne, CEO of Travel Counsellors, comments on the findings: “Demand for summer holidays and travel remains exceptionally strong, with our research indicating it remains the top spending priority for consumers, albeit this year a significant number of people are making plans around key events such as the Euros, the Olympics and the general election.

“At Travel Counsellors, we have seen very strong booking trends and consumer demand during the first half of the year, which underscores the enduring and growing importance of holidays in providing a much-needed escape and opportunity for relaxation.”

About Travel Counsellors

Travel Counsellors is the UK’s largest and fast-growing technology platform for travel entrepreneurs that connects over 2,000 independent business owners, ultimately enabling them to deliver exceptional levels of customer service. In the year to 31 October 2023, Total Transaction Value (“TTV”) on the platform was more than £900m, up more than 20% against the prior year. Travel Counsellors is multi-award-winning and has a five star, ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot. It was founded in 1994. For further information about Travel Counsellors, please visit: https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/our-story/

Notes to Editors
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,001 UK adults (Aged 16+). The data was collected between 20/06/24 and 21/06/24. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct which is based on the ESOMAR principles.

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