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Source: Visit Britain( International Passenger Survey, UK Tourism Survey) Cumbria Tourism (Occupancy Survey, Business Survey)

Poll reveals effect of ash crisis on holiday plans
travelsupermarket.com claims a quarter of people have been put off travelling abroad because of the recent volcanic ash disruption.

A survey by the comparison site, among 1,000 people, shows:

27% have changed their holiday plans to stay in the UK following the disruption.
Of those that are still going abroad, 8% are now taking a ferry, Eurostar train or a cruise, with 34% intending to fly.
A further 13% had already planned a no-flight trip.
 

"Last year was the year of the staycation, however, with the level of airline industry turbulence customers have experienced over the last 6-12 months, it isn’t hard to understand why people are again looking at changing their holiday plans to stay in the UK."

Bob Atkinson, travel expert from travelsupermarket.com

Source: April 2010 e-tid.com

Forget staycations, now it's greycations: Families take grandparents along to spread holiday costs
Millions have apparently already abandoned their foreign holiday in favour of a ‘staycation’. However, as families continue to find money short in the fallout from the recession, millions more are rediscovering the ‘greycation’ to ensure they get a break.

The term is used to describe a vacation where three generations of a family stay together. An estimated 2.7million families are planning to holiday in the UK this year with children, parents and grandparents all in the same resort, according to a survey, commissioned by holiday firm Park Resorts.

Researchers say that numbers of domestic holidays have soared this year thanks to the rising price of foreign holidays and the opportunities for sharing costs on a greycation.
19% of those questioned said they will take a trip to a British destination with all the family to save money
49% said their greycation was planned as an opportunity to increase the time their children get to spend with their grandparents
However, an ulterior motive was betrayed by the 18% of parents who admitted that the grandparents were there to provide free babysitting in the evening
Another 10% also said they opted to holiday with relatives because there were more people to share cooking

"Six in ten families say they are taking either more or the same number of greycations compared to five years ago. The UK family holiday has undergone a renaissance over recent years and that is not only due to the fact that UK breaks can be good value.

Andy Edge, Marketing Director of Park Resorts

Park Resorts, who commissioned the study into greycations, has seen bookings for extended family groups at its 37 parks in the UK soar this year. The company also reported a large increase in the number of people buying caravans to be used by three different generations of their family.

Source: May 2010 Daily Mail

Hotels closing down despite rise in UK "staycations"
Hotels are suffering from a lack of business travellers. UK hotel insolvencies have soared despite the rise of the 'Staycation' in place of foreign travel.

The number of hotel firms that failed last year rose 61% compared with 2008, according to a report by accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy.

People holidaying at home boosted room demand but a slump in business travel and problems getting bank loans is said to have affected companies. Disruption caused by the volcanic ash could lead to further negative impact on the hotel sector, the study says.
 

In the midst of Britain's worst recession since World War II customers have cut back on their length of stay and extras, such as spas and room service. The report said that despite the weak pound and many people holidaying at home, the hospitality sector remained weak.

"Unfortunately, this hasn't translated into the increased spending that hotel owners had hoped for because customers cut back on their length of stay and extras, such as spas and room service,"

Anthony Cork Director of Wilkins Kennedy

Source: May 2010 BBC News

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UK travel and tourism industry in 2009 and outlook for 2010
The British travel and tourism industry was one of the worst affected globally by what is now regarded as the most damaging economic crisis since World War II. British GDP fell by almost 5% in 2009 whilst at the same time inflation was erratic, closing the year with an increase of 2.2%. The unemployment rate has also been growing, ending the year at 7.7%, more than two percentage points higher than in 2008.

Performance of outbound travel
It is hardly surprising, then, that Euromonitor International figures show a decline of almost 12% in 2009 for outbound tourism from the UK.

Also, the fluctuation of the pound did not help matters. The British currency almost reached one-to-one parity with the euro at the beginning of 2009 and remained almost level throughout the year. The pound picked up against the dollar by June, but lost ground overall against the dollar over the year as a whole.

The weakness of the pound against the euro and the dollar played an important role for Britons when deciding where to spend their holidays. As the pound did not stretch as far as it had in the past, eurozone countries and the US became destinations to avoid.

Departures to France experienced a fall of 19%, while those to Spain declined by 16% and to Greece by 13%. The situation was even worse for outbound travel to the US, with departures falling by 30% in 2009.

Nevertheless, there were also winners during this turbulent period, with medium-haul destinations being the main beneficiaries.

Departures to countries such as Egypt and Turkey reported positive growth, with the former posting a double-digit increase. Both countries’ performances were helped by local currencies not being as strong as the euro or the dollar against the pound.

The pound-conscious British tourists were not only actively looking for the best offers but they were also ready to trade down, for example by choosing a 3-star over a 4-star hotel.

They actively sought out good value-for-money options such as those offered by package holidays. By choosing a package holiday, consumers felt that they had greater control of their budget as additional expenditures - such as airport-hotel transfers, meals, spa and gym facilities or sport and leisure activities - were often included in the price.

Nonetheless, even package holidays were affected by the overall economic situation and registered a 7% decline in 2009 – equating to a fall of £10.3 billion. Although, they also managed to remain the most popular type of British holiday, accounting for 40% of total travel retail products.

Package holidays also offer greater protection to consumers, something many started to consider to be important following the collapse of several airlines in Europe, including Flyglobespan in the UK.

Another beneficiary of the economic crisis in 2009 was low-cost carriers. Although air transportation decreased by almost 10% in value terms, Ryanair, for example, managed to increase not only its market share but also its number of passengers – the Irish company carried 65.3 million passengers across its route network in 2009, a 13% increase on the previous year.

The 12% decline in departures from the UK has important implications for the travel and tourism industry.

Britons consider their holidays not to be a luxury but a necessity and the steep decline experienced last year offers a good idea of how badly the British economy was affected by the global financial crisis. British travellers decided not only to choose destinations where their pound could buy more days or better hotels, but also reduced their overall number of trips taken.

Future outlook for travel and tourism industry
The prospects for 2010 do not look too promising either. Departures are expected to repeat the negative performance of the previous year as British consumers remain cautious, particularly due to rising unemployment.

The trends seen in 2009 will largely remain in place; for example, British consumers will continue to choose package holidays over the short and medium term and budget will be a key issue when planning a break.

In addition, there is uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming election in the UK and the subsequent economic policies of the next government.

For UK inbound travel, the tourism industry is likely to recover only by 2012 when the Olympic Games effect will have a positive impact on arrivals to London.

London, already the most visited city in the world with over 15 million visitors annually, will reinforce its image internationally and benefit from the presence of the world’s media for four weeks in the summer 2012.

The economic unrest currently experienced by countries such as Greece could have an influence on the destinations chosen by British tourists, who are looking for more stable and calm environments for their holidays.

Therefore, medium-haul destinations outside the eurozone are likely to benefit.

Emerging destinations that are currently less firmly-fixed on the tourist map, such as Lebanon, are already being targeted by hotel chains building new resorts and could benefit from this trend. Although currently only Bmi and MEA offer direct flights to Beirut from London, other carriers, particularly low-cost carriers, could enter the market in order to take advantage of rising demand.

Source: May 2010 Travel Mole

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Holiday Booking Process – Mintel March 2010
The holiday booking process continues to evolve, with the major driving force being the ever changing online environment. Consumers report that reviews and other user-generated content are increasingly important in their research process and the number of holidays booked online by Mintel’s respondents has grown to over one in two.

AB socio-economic group are behind the return to growth of internet penetration. ABs are most likely to have the internet in their home/work/place of study followed by C1s.
Geographically, there is a strong presence of London’s residents among the online only bookers. As with the £50,000 plus earners, over 6 in 10 are there and no other region has such a strong presence.
Almost 3/10 of those who booked their last holiday through a travel agent lived in the North or Scotland.
There are strong correlations between both the use of the internet with taking independent holidays and the use of travel agents with going on package holidays.
The recession did not dampen the trend away from package to independent options. In 2009 Mintel estimates a 62.7% to 37.3% independence v package split.
In terms of holiday research, almost one in four people used the internet in some way in 2009. Using travel agents for advice fell, dropping behind talking with friends and family.

Holiday Information
The internet is the most likely place for holiday information seekers to turn to – and the likelihood of people doing so is increasing. 4 in 10 look to online reviews in some capacity, a fact that presents both opportunities and challenges to operators. The rise in user generated content is increasingly embraced as companies see the importance that it has for consumers and reason that it is better to engage than ignore.

Holiday Booking Patterns
Scotland and the North are above the national average of 17% in the use of travel agents. Other regions higher than the national average include the Northwest, Yorkshire and Humberside.
Research shows that those who book independent holidays are likely to do so online.
There are people who use a mix of methods when researching and booking a holiday.
 

Holiday Booking Statistics

(Baseline: 1,520 people, 16+ who have been on holiday during the past 5 years. Figures = %)

The table above and other statistics in the Mintel report show that one in five of those who visited a travel agents as part of their research, then booked their holiday online. However, another one in five consumers that browsed the internet for package deals, then went on to book their holiday through a travel agent. Thus, in terms of the holiday booking process the relationship between the travel agents and the internet is more complicated than “people who use the internet don’t use travel agent” characterisation.

Agents face the reality that a good percentage of their customers simply see them as a free source of information – however a proportion of their custom is being driven by those who look on the internet first.

Conclusions
The recession did not result in a shift back to the package holiday model as some suggested ahead of the 2009 picture emerging.
 

The increasing influence of the internet on the holiday booking process is clear throughout this Mintel report, and long term booking trends show a fall in the use of travel agents as consumers look to make their own arrangements online.
 

User generated content in the form of online reviews is influencing more and more travellers holiday booking process, however consumers are aware of the unreliability of such review sites.

With this explosion of content comes information overload, and therefore the sheer proliferation of online information is helping create a clear role for travel agents and other “expert” intermediaries and there are suggestions of a recent bounce back in the percentage using agents again.
 

Source: Mar 2010 Mintel

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Travel agents bid on consumers dream trips

We've seen myriad variations on the travel-planning theme, but when it comes right down to it, most options still fall into one of two categories: DIY options involving the web or purchased services from a paid planner. OfferMeaTrip, on the other hand, aims to combine the best of both worlds with a service in which consumers dictate what they want and agents bid for their business.

Users begin by telling the service what kind of trip they'd like to take, including how much they want to spend over how long a time and what types of activities they enjoy. The company's network of approved travel agents can then choose to make offers on a corresponding trip. Offers are presented in the form of tailored, personalized on-line holiday brochures thanks to the site's simple, online brochure creator. The consumer in question then chooses the offer that's most appealing to them, and OfferMeaTrip helps them connect with the agent for booking and payment confirmation.
 

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Dutch city launched iPhone app for logging civic complaints
Potholes, stray garbage, broken street lamps? Citizens of Eindhoven can now report local issues by iPhone. After spotting something that needs to be fixed, residents can use the app to take a picture, select an appropriate category and send their complaint directly through to the city council. A combination of GPS and maps lets users pinpoint the exact location of the problem, providing city workers with all the information they need to identify and resolve the problem.
 

What has this real-time feedback app got to do with Tourism?

Well ... imagine this app focused on the tourist and you could have a real-time information delivery and feedback mechanism for fellow tourists, tourism businesses, and local authorities.

Walkers could map and share their panoramic pictures, tourism businesses could promote their events as they happen and local authorities can react faster from direct tourist/citizen feedback to help maintain a functioning and prosperous visitor economy.

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Source: Springwise + TheDrum

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