‘Sea change’ in the way people research holidays, survey finds.

Well-priced holiday packages still have a place but the era of tailor-made travel has now arrived, a new poll reveals.

The poll by American Express Travel found that research on the internet, claimed by 39% of consumers, is one of a range of fact finding devices regularly used to establish price comparisons and then to negotiate the best deal.

“This does not necessarily spell the death of the package holiday, despute a 28% drop in appeal in favour of tailor made travel,” Amex Travel said. “Consumers and agents agree that competitively priced packages – especially to long haul destinations – may work out cheaper than going it alone.

But while the results suggest that straightforward travel components may increasingly be booked via the internet, more complicated holiday arrangements are likely to remain in the hands of travel agents.

Nearly three-quarters of the consumers who took part in the survey said they booked through a travel agency because they want the reassurance that all arrangements will be taken care of both before travel and when they are overseas.

Amex Travel vice president Europe Katrina Harrison said: “The major sea change in the past decade has been that British holidaymakers now do their homework before booking a holiday, much as they would when buying a car. And now they know how to use their muscle to achieve the best price.”

She added: “Increasing numbers of customers are choosing to have their holidays tailor made to individual specifications and this can be very complicated. 

“Given that several flight legs and travel between different countries may be involved, many holidaymakers are reluctant to book a number of connecting elements separately on the internet. If a travel agent has co-ordinated the bookings for them, they can relax, knowing that there’s a support network to help them if anything should go wrong.”   

The study, undertaken as parallel surveys of UK consumers and travel agency managers nationwide and in Europe, also found that British travellers are more concerned about accommodation quality than about the means of getting to their destination.

Location, room quality and hotel housekeeping generated both the greatest levels of satisfaction and irritation for the consumers surveyed. By contrast British holidaymakers were more ambivalent towards all aspects of air travel, rating this as a necessary commodity.   

More than 40% of those surveyed said that they would always choose to travel from a local airport, even when this restricted their choice of destination. Convenience – particularly for those travelling from Scotland and the North – was more important than the cost-saving that might potentially be achieved by using a low cost carrier.

Scheduled airlines fared well in the survey, preferred by 70% of the consumer sample, whilst Amex agents said that scheduled flights generally scored over the competition when they were able to price match with low cost carriers.

Serious health scares were rated as the greatest deterrent to travel – above terrorist threats. But, despite this, most of those questioned (69%) said that they had not cancelled or postponed holiday plans as a result of any specific events. Amex agents also confirmed that affected destinations were generally quick to bounce back from adverse situations.

Comparisons over a ten year period between 1995 and 2005 underlined the fact that destinations previously the province of backpackers – including India, South America and Indochina – are now the mainstream choices.

The US topped the poll of favourite destinations, which featured seven long haul countries including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. Nearly 70% of consumers claim to take regular long haul trips – a growth of 80% in a decade. 

But in contrast, demand for short haul holidays to the Med dropped by 40% with many euro destinations losing out both to long haul competitors and non-eurozone countries like Bulgaria, Slovakia and Turkey, which were regarded as providing good value. 

If budget were not an issue, consumers named Australia and New Zealand as the places that they would most like to visit.

The poll covered 576 clients and agency branch managers in key UK cities and franchisees in Germany and Spain.

Top destinations:

1.                   US

2.                   France

3.                   Italy

4.                   Australia

5.                   Canada

6.                   Caribbean

7.                   Spain

8.                   South Africa

9.                   New Zealand

10.               Thailand

Report by Phil Davies 

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