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Millennials and Gen Zs ‘most likely to book in-store’
More 18-24 year olds are booking their holidays in store, but there’s been a dip in in-store bookings among families with young children.
These were among the findings of ABTA’s latest Holiday Habits research, based on a survey of 2,043 consumers in July.
It found that 22% of 18-24 year olds said they had booked a trip in a store in the previous 12 months, up 8% on last year’s figures and also above the UK average of 12%. It makes them the most likely age group to book in store.
But the number of young families booking in store has dropped from 23% in 2018 to 17%.
The survey found that 34% of 18-24 year olds said they had booked using the services of a travel professional, either in store or online, up from 31% in 2018.
This figure includes booking with the help of a travel professional face to face, on the telephone or online and also defined a travel professional as an agent, operator or any other person working in the industry.
When asked why they book with a travel professional, 20% of younger people said they believe they will get a better holiday.
ABTA said this reflects that younger people are likely to be less experienced travellers and are keen to make the most of a travel professional’s knowledge. ~
The survey also found that while online booking figures have remained steady over the past two years, 16% of people who book a holiday online now seek additional support, such as using a live chat service or speaking with a travel professional via social media.
This rises to 30% of 25-34 year olds, followed by 28% of 18-24 year olds.
ABTA said this suggests these ‘digitally savvy’ travellers are seeking easily accessible ways to get travel insights and expertise online.
"Whilst people are increasingly using social media as a method of booking through travel professionals, the reliance on social media to provide holiday inspiration and information has fallen this year by 3% for both social media posts of friends and family and of brands/influencers," said ABTA’s report.
At the same time, there have been increases in the number of people preferring to consult travel company websites, up from 32% to 36%.
"This suggests an increasing appetite for genuine, trustworthy insights, and a greater awareness of the limitations and reliability of social media as a source of information," said ABTA.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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