A new study by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has revealed that just under a quarter of Britons are already predicting that they won’t be able to go on holiday next year because they ‘can’t afford it’.
LONDON – In a bid to discover more about Britons’ choices when it comes to holidays and annual leave, the UK’s leading discount website has conducted a study to look into people’s habits with regards to holiday planning; and to find out if they already have any holiday plans for next year.
MyVoucherCodes.co.uk polled 1,234 people aged 18 and over in full-time employment from across the UK, and initially asked them, ‘Do you usually go abroad on holiday every year?’, to which the majority, 78%, said ‘yes’.
The respondents who claimed to go on holiday every year were then asked to specify how they usually organise their annual leave during the year. The majority of the respondents, 48%, claimed to ‘spread their time off across the whole year’; whilst just under a third, 31%, claimed to use their annual leave up by booking ‘long weekends’ off throughout the year. A further 17% admitted to taking all of their annual leave in ‘one go’, to be able to enjoy a long holiday.
The respondents who claimed to go on holiday every year were then asked if they thought that they would go abroad on holiday next year, to which just over a quarter, 26%, said ‘no’. When asked why they didn’t think they would holiday next year, the majority, 52%, admitted that they didn’t think that they would be able to ‘afford it.’
A further 26% of the respondents explained that they wanted to ‘save money’ for another purpose instead of going on holiday, and just under a fifth, 18%, stated they didn’t think their partner would want to go away next year; so a holiday was out of their grasp.
When asked how long they tended to save up for a holiday, just under half of respondents, 47%, claimed to save money for several months. In contrast, just over a quarter, 28%, claimed to save money for ‘an entire year’ whilst just 4% claimed that they didn’t have to save money at all.
Mark Pearson, Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings:
“Holidays are one of the things that people look forward to throughout the year, so it wasn’t surprising to see the majority of people making travel plans every year. However, planning a holiday is a big financial commitment, and it’s not just the cost of the holiday itself that is expensive, but all the extras you spend while you’re there. With the increase in the cost of living, many people have had to adjust how they spend their money, and either end up with a smaller holiday budget or take the decision not to go on holiday every year.”
He continued:
“There are loads of great deals out there, whether you want to go on holiday with your family, as a couple or just with friends. Booking early is a good way to get the best deals but if that’s not enough, check out what holiday discounts or deals are available to save you some money. After all, it would be a shame to give up on your holiday before even looking at all the options!”
