Holidays - Ideas, Planning and Booking - UK - January 2004

SUMMARY

The year 2003 proved to be another trying year for the travel industry with the build up to the war in Iraq affecting the peak booking periods of January and February. However, after a couple of difficult years, the travel industry is now showing signs that recovery is on its way. Despite these difficulties the overseas holiday market is estimated to increase by 5% between 2002 and 2003.

Although individual companies have been affected differently, it is those who have quickly adapted to the market conditions by cutting capacity and costs, while maintaining margins, who have successfully ridden the storm. The difficult trading environment has led to a slight re-shuffle within the top ten travel groups, in terms of ATOL licenses issued, with TUI UK regaining the number one spot and Lotus International and Ebookers making an appearance for the first time, replacing Virgin Holidays and the now defunct Accoladia.

This report analyses the distribution of the holiday market, including where holiday ideas come from, how they are researched as well as how they are booked. Not surprisingly the Internet appears readily within all three situations, hot on the heels of the travel agent. With exclusive consumer research and in-depth market analysis, this unique report provides a fresh insight into:

• Market Factors
• The Total Holiday Market
• The Domestic Market
• The Overseas Market
• Market Segmentation
• The Supply Structure
• Ideas, Planning and Booking a Holiday

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and Abbreviations

• Definition
• Methodology
• Consumer research

Abbreviations

Summary of Key Report Findings

• Low consumer confidence and a slowing economy
• Work pressures and increased stress levels
• Domestic holidays
• Holidays abroad
• Fall in beach holidays and rise in more active holidays
• Re-shuffle in supply structure
• Ideas, planning and booking a holiday
• The consumer

Market Factors

• World at war
• Consumer confidence
• The economy
• Figure 1: GDP and PDI at 1998 prices and the savings ratio, 1998-2007
• Exchange rates
• Figure 2: Annual average exchange rates for Sterling against the euro and Dollar, 1998-2003
• Working patterns and stress
• Figure 3: Household working patterns, 1998-2003
• Figure 4: Agreement with the statement 'my life is quite stressful', December 2000 and December 2002
• Ageing population
• Figure 5: Population, by lifestage, 1998-2006
• Higher spend on leisure
• Figure 6: Statements about current lifestyle compared to five years ago, August 2003
• The Internet and technological developments
• Figure 7: Internet penetration, March 1998-July 2003
• Other technological developments
• Broadband
• Interactive television
• Figure 8: Digital TV penetration, February 2002-July 2003

The Total Holiday Market

• Figure 9: Domestic and overseas holidays and expenditure, 1998-2004

The Domestic Market

• Purpose of tourism
• Figure 10: Purpose of tourism in the UK, by volume, 1998-2003
• Figure 11: Purpose of tourism in the UK by expenditure, 1998-2003
• Holidays
• Figure 12: Domestic holiday volume and expenditure, at constant and current values, 1998-2004
• Tourism expenditure by category
• Figure 13: Domestic tourism expenditure, by category 2002
• Holiday length of stay
• Figure 14: Length of stay for domestic holidays, by volume, 1998-2003
• Figure 15: Length of stay for domestic holidays, by value, 1998-2003
• Domestic holidays by region
• Figure 16: Distribution of domestic holiday trips, 1998-2003
• Location
• Figure 17: Type of location stayed at for domestic holiday trips, 2000-03

The Overseas Market

• Figure 18: Domestic and overseas holidays and expenditure, 1998-2004
• Short versus long holidays
• Figure 19: Domestic and overseas holidays, 1998-2004
• Inclusive versus independent
• Figure 20: Inclusive versus independent holidays, 1998-2004
• Destinations abroad
• Figure 21: Outbound holiday visits by area visited, 1999-2003
• Figure 22: Top 20 holiday destinations for the British, 2003

Market Segmentation

• Figure 23: Type of holiday taken on last holiday, UK and abroad, 1998-2003
• Beach/resort holidays
• City Breaks
• Figure 24: City break market, UK and abroad, 1998-2002
• Figure 25: Average cost per break, UK and abroad, 1998-2002
• Lakes and mountains
• Cruise
• Figure 26: Passengers taking a river or ocean cruise, 1998-2003
• Holiday centres
• Figure 27: Value of the UK holiday centres market, 1998-2004
• Snow sports
• Figure 28: Snow sports market volume, 1997/98-2003/04
• Golf holidays

The Supply Structure

• Increased financial protection for holidays
• Holidays abroad
• Figure 29: Passengers licensed to top ten groups and companies, year September 1999-2003
• Figure 30: Percentage share of passengers licensed to top five groups and companies, 2002
• Figure 31: ATOL passengers carried by the top ten travel companies, 12 months to March 2002-03
• TUI UK
• Figure 32: World of TUI, Northern Europe division, financial performance, 2001-03
• MyTravel
• Figure 33: MyTravel Group plc, financial performance, 1998-2003
• Thomas Cook UK
• Figure 34: Thomas Cook AG and Thomas Cook UK, financial performance, 2001-03
• First Choice Holidays plc
• Figure 35: First Choice Holidays plc, group financial performance, 1998-2003
• Cosmos Group
• Figure 36: Cosmosair plc, financial performance, 1998-2002
• Gold Medal International Ltd
• Figure 37: Gold Medal International, financial performance, 2000-03
• Trailfinders Ltd
• Figure 38: Trailfinders ltd, financial performance, 1998-2003
• Libra Holidays Group
• Figure 39: Libra Holidays Ltd, financial performance, 1998-2002
• ebookers.com plc
• Figure 40: E-bookers, financial performance, 2000-03
• Lotus Group
• Figure 41: Lotus Group Ltd, financial performance, 1999-2002

Ideas, Planning and Booking a Holiday

• Travel agents must adopt technology

Sources for holiday ideas

• Figure 42: Holiday ideas, November 2003

Research sources

• Figure 43: How holidays are researched, October 2001 and November 2003

Channels for booking a holiday

• Figure 44: Channels for booking a holiday, October 2001 and November 2003
• Figure 45: Ideas, research and booking sources, November 2003

The booking process

• Figure 46: The booking process, November 2003
• Travel agents
• Figure 47: The holiday booking process when using travel agents, November 2003
• The Internet
• Figure 48: The holiday booking process when using the Internet, November 2003
• Brochures
• Figure 49: The holdiay booking process when using brochures, November 2003
• Holiday ideas
• Figure 50: Top sources for holiday ideas, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 51: Top sources for holiday ideas, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 52: Top sources for holiday ideas, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 53: Second most popular sources for holiday ideas, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 54: The second most popular sources for holiday ideas, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 55: The second most popular sources for holiday ideas, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 56: The least popular sources of holiday ideas, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 57: The least popular sources of holiday ideas, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 58: The least popular sources of holiday ideas, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Holiday research
• Figure 59: Most popular methods of researching a holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 60: Most popular methods of researching a holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 61: Most popular methods of researching a holiday, Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 62: Least popular methods of researching a holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 63: Least popular methods of researching a holiday, by working status, lifestage, and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 64: Second most popular methods of researching a holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Holiday bookings
• Figure 65: Top methods of booking a holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 66: Top methods of booking a holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 67: Top methods of booking a holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 68: Least popular method of booking a holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 69: Least popular methods of booking a holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 70: Least popular methods of booking a holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003 
• Holiday ideas by type of holiday taken
• Figure 71: Holiday ideas by the type of long holidays taken, 2003
• Figure 72: Holiday ideas by the type of short break holidays taken, 2003
• Holiday ideas by number of holidays taken
• Figure 73: Holiday ideas by the type of long holidays taken, 2003
• Holiday research by the type of holiday taken
• Figure 74: Holiday research by the type of long holiday taken, 2003
• Figure 75: Holiday research by the type of short break taken, 2003
• Holiday research by number of holidays taken
• Figure 76: Holiday research by number of holidays taken, 2003
• Holiday bookings by type of holiday taken
• Figure 77: Holiday bookings by the type of long holiday taken, 2003
• Figure 78: Holiday booking by the type of short break taken, 2003
• Holiday bookings by number of holidays taken
• Figure 79: Holiday bookings by number of holidays taken, 2003

The Consumer

Types of holidays taken

• Figure 80: Main type of holiday taken in the last 12 months, 1999-2003
• Figure 81: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 82: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 83: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Frequency of taking holidays
• Figure 84: Number of holidays taken in the last 12 months, by type of holiday, November 2003
• Figure 85: Frequency of holidays taken abroad and in the UK, November 2003
• Foreign versus domestic holidays
• Figure 86: Trends in holiday-taking (taken in the last 12 months), 1997-2003
• Figure 87: Type and number of holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 88: Type and number of holiday by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 89: Type and number of holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Package versus independent holidays
• Figure 90: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-group, November 2003
• Figure 91: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, by working status, own children in household, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 92: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Short breaks
• Figure 93: Short break holidays taken in the last 12 months, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 94: Short break holidays taken in the last 12 months, by working status, presence of children, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 95: Short break holidays taken in the last 12 months, Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• What makes a good holiday?
• Figure 96: Elements of an enjoyable holiday, 1999-2003
• Figure 97: Most important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by demographic sub-group, November 2003
• Figure 98: Most important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 99: Most important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 100: Next most important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 101: Next most important factors for an enjoyable holiday, working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 102: Next most important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 103: Important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 104: Important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 105: Important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 106: Least important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 107: Least important factors for an enjoyable holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 108: Least important factors for an enjoyable holiday, Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• What would spoil a holiday?
• Figure 109: Off-putting elements of a holiday, 1999-2003
• Figure 110: Most popular off-putting factors for a holiday, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 111: Most popular off-putting factors for a holiday, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 112: Most popular off-putting factors for a holiday, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 113: Next most popular off-putting factors, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 114: Next most popular off-putting factors, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 115: Next most popular factors, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 116: Popular off-putting factors, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 117: Popular off-putting factors, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 118: Popular off-putting factors, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003
• Figure 119: Least popular negative factors, by demographic sub-groups, November 2003
• Figure 120: Least popular negative factors, by working status, lifestage and ACORN category, November 2003
• Figure 121: Least popular off-putting factors, by Mintel's Special Groups, media, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, November 2003

The Future

• The economy
• Holiday trends
• Technology is key
• Popular destinations for 2004
• Super youth and super greys

Forecast

• Figure 122: Forecast of the holiday market, by value, 2003-07
• Figure 123: Forecast of the holiday market, by volume, 2003-07