According to ABTA, almost one in four people haven’t taken a trip in the last 12 months. A poll of over 2000 adults showed that pressure on household finances was the key factor in deciding whether to holiday abroad, with lower income households suffering the most.
The survey results, forming ABTA’s Travel Trends Report 2015, were announced at its convention held in southern Greece. They showed just under half of those classified as low earners, the unemployed and those relying on a state pension will take a break this year – a marked decline on the figure of 81% in 2011.
Although, the average number of trips taken by Brits increased from 3.0 to 3.2 in 2014, this rise is being put down to more affluent travellers going on more trips abroad. The highest social earners are taking an average of eight holidays a year – not bad at all!
The most popular holiday type among Brits is still the city break, with the beach holiday following closely behind. Even though the travel industry has made a marked recovery from the recession, it is clear that some travellers are still feeling the pinch.
Last year, we polled 2000 people about their holiday habits and found that the average Brit craves a holiday every 56 days — so going over a year without one is tough. Over half of participants cited that their productivity at work suffered if they didn’t take a break.
It also emerged that travellers felt tired and stressed only eight weeks after returning from their trip. You know the feeling: you’re sitting at your desk, licking that ice cream and feeling the sun on your face when your boss screams at you and you realise you’re actually holding a calendar.
It’s not all doom and gloom though: the ABTA poll showed that most people were more optimistic about their future holiday prospects with 23% saying that they intended to spend more on a well-earned break next year.
Whether the gap between the highest and lowest social earners becomes bridged in the near-future remains to be seen. Hopefully though, this time next year we’ll all be hunting for the passports and shopping for the sun cream…
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