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Squeezed Brits are finding their holiday budgets squeezed further this year.
Recent data from TravelSupermarket has revealed the cost of holidays to Brits’ five most popular countries of Spain, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus has increased on average by 12% since last year. This represents a 30% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels, which far outstrips the general inflation rate.
After the difficult years of the pandemic, the current economic climate has rendered it impossible for travel operators not to, at least in part, pass the rising costs of operating onto their customers. But of course, they are not alone. From supermarkets to hairdressers, the cost of living crisis, inflation and rising costs of materials have put pressure on Brits in almost every area of their lives.
Between a rock and a hard place
The rise in holiday prices, combined with the broader financial pressures we are all facing, means that many Brits are questioning whether they can go away at all.
For the many travel providers relying on last-minute bookings this summer to stay in the black, this puts them between a rock and a hard place. How can they entice these price-conscious holidaymakers to book with them, without increasing their own operating costs?
The answer to this is remaining focused on which perks and benefits you offer and ensuring they are completely aligned with customers’ actual wants and needs. Operators that try to appeal too broadly will find themselves shouldering the cost burden. Equally, those that rely on gut instinct risk investing in areas that have little influence on holidaymakers’ final decisions.
Listening to what holidaymakers want this summer
Travel operators need to listen to what their customers want from their holidays, and then invest in and aggressively market those key benefits to attract holidaymakers.
When we conducted research on what would make a holiday deal more attractive to Brits, we found that they are looking for:
- Meals to be included as part of their package
- Free cancellation policies
- Free hotel upgrade (after all, who wouldn’t!)
- Access to free or discounts on activities and visits
- Extra luggage allowance
- The opportunity to pay in instalments
Insights to action this summer
As consumers continue to face the squeeze, it’s important that travel operators take the time to find out which of the potential perks they can offer would be most attractive to holidaymakers this summer.
Self-service research technology platforms can significantly reduce the overhead of getting directly to the heart of what customers want and need compared to traditional research consultancies, while also increasing the speed to insights that will allow them to make the changes they need today to improve their attractiveness to British holidaymakers this summer.
