Research shows incredible increase in Brits booking spontaneous holidays; Number of searches to ‘anywhere’ also up 500%, according to flight booking site Kiwi.com; Travellers are wanting a holiday ‘experience’ as much as they want a getaway
LONDON, UK – Britons are more adventurous than ever before, with both one-way trips and searches using the 'take me anywhere' function up 500% from January 2016 to last month.
The most popular destination for a one-way ticket over this period was New York, followed by Tel Aviv and Amsterdam, according to data from flight booking website Kiwi.com.
This increased Wanderlust could, in part, be down to growing frustration and uncertainty around Brexit, with fears it could push up airfares.
The number of fed-up Britons looking to escape, has more than doubled since the country voted to leave the EU in June last year, throwing the bloc into confusion.
There has also been an astounding increase in passengers using Kiwi.com's 'anywhere' function, which allows them to enter the dates they wish to fly and in return, gives them a list of destinations based on popularity and price.
Figures showed people were also following through on these spontaneous searches, with more than one in ten booking from the list of available locations.
The trend is a hallmark of 'Generation Escape', where people want an unforgettable experience as much as they do a getaway from the monotony of daily life and work.
It has seen the rise of 'surprise holiday' companies who take care of every facet of a traveller's holiday – including flights, accommodation and activities – for a fixed fee.
In return, holidaymakers have no idea where they are going or what they are doing until they arrive at the airport.
Around 12million UK residents took trips abroad in 2016, according to a report by the Office of National Statistics – an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year. They spent a whopping £39.2billion.
Thanks to an ever-increasing number of destinations, and with more countries investing in tourism as a source of income, this number is expected to grow alongside global trends.
International tourist arrivals worldwide are expected to increase by 3.3% a year between 2010 and 2030 to reach 1.8 billion by 2030, according to UNWTO’s long-term forecast report.
These figures could mark the beginning of the end of the 'Staycation' after a 2015 Visit England study revealed more and more Britons were opting to holiday at home.
Itfound 29.6 million people took one to three-day holidays in England in 2013, an increase of 17 per cent since 2008.
Kiwi.com spokesperson Alison Couper commented: "An increasing number of travelers are looking to escape and create incredible new experiences regardless of the destination.
"Be it families, couples or lone travellers, the "anywhere" feature is perfect for anyone who want to escape on a budget.
"Our numbers go to show Brits have an increasingly modern world view and are willing to travel out of their comfort zone.
"It also shows how sites like Kiwi.com, which allows passengers to fly with multiple airlines in a single trip through our revolutionary system, give them a cost-effective deal around the days they know they can travel."
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
