The long-haul holiday market contracted significantly during the recession, as the impact of squeezed household finances was exacerbated by inflated airfares due to high fuel costs and increases to the rate that Air Passenger Duty is charged at. Economic recovery in the UK provides brands with a range of opportunities for growth, but established key players will face a range of challenges, particularly from the entrance of the no-frills airline model into the transatlantic market.
Consumer demand for in-flight connectivity is set to increase, providing an opportunity for brands to differentiate by offering streaming to personal devices or a fast, stable Wi-Fi network. There is also an opportunity for airlines to cut costs and shed weight by doing away with the traditional seat-back entertainment systems.
This report examines holidays outside of Europe taken by UK residents, and explores consumer experience of and attitudes towards long-haul holidays. The report also provides a five-year volume and value forecast for the long-haul holiday market, investigates core drivers behind changes in the market and explores the challenges and opportunities that brands will face in 2014. The report also explores consumer attitudes towards flying long-haul and examines consumer demand for in-flight features. This subject was last explored in Mintel’s Long-haul Holidays, UK – March 2013.
Definition
This report examines the habits and attitudes of British holidaymakers concerning long-haul holidays. Long-haul refers to all holidays outside Europe, including holidays involving cruises. A holiday must constitute at least one overnight stay. The business travel market is not reviewed in this report.
An adult, for the purposes of Mintel’s research, is anyone aged 16 or over.
The standard travel and tourism definitions used in the terminology of this report are as follows:
Tourism is any travel which involves at least one overnight stay away from home.
A holiday is a subjectively defined form of tourism, as defined by the tourist in response to surveys such as the IPS. A holiday can be distinguished from other leisure travel such as visits to friends and relatives (VFR) or shopping trips.
Short-haul refers destinations within Europe. The following destinations are considered to be short-haul: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus EU, Cyprus Non-EU, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Other Europe.
Long-haul refers to destinations outside of Europe.
The Canaries are included as a part of the Spanish market, and Madeira and the Azores are included as part of the Portuguese market.
A package holiday is defined as the simultaneous sale of at least two elements of a holiday to the traveller: fares on public transport (eg flights) and commercial accommodation (eg hotel or self-catering apartment). Other elements, such as meals or excursions, are not essential to the definition of an inclusive tour. The term ‘all-inclusive’ is used to describe a special type of resort holiday in which food, drink, excursions and other services are provided as part of the total holiday cost.
An independent holiday is one in which the traveller organises and books transport and accommodation from separate sources (eg a Channel ferry crossing and a caravan site in France).
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