Brits still planning summer holidays despite economic fears

Despite the growing sense of economic uncertainty and rising concerns in the retail and travel sectors about a slow-down in consumer spending, nearly 60% of respondents in a Kayak.co.uk survey have revealed they will not cancel or alter their summer holiday plans. While 66% of respondents confirmed they are starting to feel a budget pinch and fully expect to see increased daily expenses such as housing, fuel, food and transport, the majority of those surveyed also told the leading travel search engine Kayak.co.uk they would rather ‘trade down’ on luxuries than deny themselves a summer getaway.

When asked how to save money on holiday if needed, 66% would search for travel deals to get the best price, 60% would self cater meals instead of eating out and 30% would forgo as much luggage in order to avoid excess baggage fees. Only 7% would cancel their holiday completely while a mere 4% admitted they might freeload from wealthier relatives.

The Kayak.co.uk survey also found that despite the increasingly unfavourable exchange rate of the pound against the euro, more than 73% of respondents claimed they would not refrain from taking leisure breaks to Europe. In fact, nearly 45% of respondents confirmed they had already planned or were in the process of planning their holidays to Europe this summer.

At the same time, savvy Brits are still strongly attracted by the nearly 2:1 performance of the pound against the dollar. More than 65% of Kayak.co.uk survey respondents said they would be inspired to travel to the U.S. and Canada to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate.

Annie Wilson, Business Development Director of Kayak.co.uk said, “Last summer was one of the wettest on record and it’s clear that sun–starved Brits value summer holidays far too highly to do without. Potential shortcomings in everyday budgets are not enough to curb UK wanderlust, and instead people are becoming savvier about using sites like Kayak.co.uk to find the best deals possible. Even holidaymakers who might already have a smaller travel budget this year can still find affordable deals and won’t have to miss out on taking a summer break.”

In terms of general holiday trends, Kayak.co.uk revealed the most popular holiday planned by survey respondents will be a summer getaway with a significant other (57%), followed by a trip with friends (39%) or a family holiday (35%).

As far as holiday organisation goes, the UK is fast becoming a polarized nation of short- and long-term planners. Nearly 46% of survey respondents admitted to booking their holidays only one month in advance and while 40% booked their trips six or more months ahead of time.

In nearly all cases, survey respondents revealed they prefer to travel at either the beginning or end of the summer season in order beat the crowds. More than 35% favoured travelling in September and October for a late summer sun getaway while as many as 31% will opt for a late spring or early summer departure. 25% of surveyed holidaymakers were planning a trip abroad during the hot July and August months while only 10% admitted a preference for not traveling during the summer at all.

Summer holiday bargain hunting tips from Kayak.co.uk

Kayak.co.uk has some great bargain hunting features, helping create your perfect summer getaway, without sending your bank balance into the red:

- Flexibility is key. Airfares can vary several hundred pounds by day of the week. Travelling whilst most people are still at work will save time and money, so try booking your ticket for a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday to save some cash and aggravation. Use Kayak.co.uk’s Flexibile Search tool to compare airfare up to three days before and three days after desired dates of travel.

- Loose the last minute. Kayak.co.uk’s the first to admit that sometimes there’s nothing more invigorating than throwing caution to the winds and taking that spontaneous trip. But in order to protect your wallet from the increasing oil prices that are driving up the cost of flights, you’ll need to book now if its summer savings you’re after. Costs for airfare, hotels and hire cars for the most part follow the thermometer – as the temperature rises, so do the prices!

- Open your mind: Not everyone knows where and when they want to go for their summer holiday. Kayak’s award winning Fare Buzz feature provides a crystal ball of prices for users who are both date challenged and date and destination challenged. Holidaymakers can search and track the best fares to the “Top 25 Cities” in a region including US, Europe, Caribbean, Mexico/Central America, Asia, Africa and Australia/Oceanic. The ultra budget conscious traveller can narrow in on the perfect destination based on price or use the Google Map to weigh options such as travel time and weather.

- Go for the Greenback: Travelling a bit further afield is sometimes hardly inexpensive, but Brits can make their hard earned pounds stretch as far as possible by heading to any destination accepting (or linked to) the U.S. dollar. Interested in making the most of the exchange rate but looking for someplace for tropical than the U.S. or Canadian mainland?

Consider sunning yourself on the beaches of dollar-based Caribbean islands like Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Just make sure to avoid St. Martin and St. Barts, which are much pricier and trade in the ever rising euro!

For more information, visit Kayak.co.uk.