Britons Defy the Recession to Enjoy their Holidays - By: Kim d

The recession has hit the travel industry hard. This has been seen with the large amount of job losses in the sector, and even with the collapse of several airlines. The pattern has been repeated across Europe and there have been fears among industry analysts that the economic downturn will put people off their holidays altogether.

Fortunately it appears that, despite the straitened circumstances, UK citizens are not prepared to forgo their holidays. A significant amount of research and industry feedback has indicated that British travellers are altering their holiday habits, rather than cancel the holidays themselves.

At the close of 2009, leading travel companies Thomson and First Choice revealed that online polling had found that a massive 80 per cent of people were committed to their holidays and were planning to book their break – or breaks – as normal during 2010. The same number of respondents said that they were refusing to let the economic downturn alter their holiday plans.

The encouraging results were part of the 2009 Thomson and First Choice annual trends report, which also revealed that nearly half of all respondents would not be cutting the budgets for their holidays and 24 per cent said that they planned to spend more. Nevertheless, the recession was not without impact, as the survey revealed that many people are changing the way that they view their holidays.

Thomson and First Choice found that 6 per cent of respondents who had changed their holiday plans last year had booked a package holiday to ensure that they were covered by ATOL’s provisions in the event of their company going bust. At least they would get flown home, went the logic. This concern has remained, with 13 per cent admitting to making the same arrangement for their holidays this year.

Another way that UK holiday habits have changed in the face of the recession – alongside the growth of internet technology – is that the way in which many people book their holidays has changed. There has been a substantial increase in the number of holidays which are booked on the Internet using price comparison websites and the sites of smaller, independent holiday companies.

Holidaymakers don’t only do this to save money. The growth of tailor-made holidays booked at home is also in part due to the increased confidence that consumers feel about taking matters into their own hands and getting onto the Internet.

About the Author

Kim has 4 years experience in the travel industry. She enjoys writing articles on various destinations and Travel related topics.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Kim-d/50835

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