The travel association ABTA has revealed the findings of its latest Holiday Habits survey at its annual Travel Convention in Madeira and Spain remains the dominant destination for UK travellers. According to the report there is no change in the top seven most popular countries UK travellers say they are considering for their overseas holidays in the next 12 months.
Spain retains the top spot for where people most want to visit and, in line with the trend for this year, an increasing proportion of people are looking to visit there in the coming 12 months, up three percentage points on the past year.
The impact of the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, and continued reduced flight options, is seemingly affecting travellers’ future intentions. Those planning to visit the Middle East are down from 7% to 5%.
Despite the most popular countries remaining the same, more than half of UK travellers are considering a new place within them, as 54% are planning on visiting a resort or city they have never been to before, with 25-34 year olds most likely (73%), followed by 18-24 year olds (57%).
Overall, 48% said they were planning to visit a country they have never been to before, again mostly shaped by 25-34 year olds (71%), followed by 18-24 year olds (57%). City breaks are set to continue their rise in popularity over the next 12 months, with more than half looking to take this type of break (51% – up four percentage points).
There is an increased appetite for beach holidays (50% – up three percentage points) and countryside breaks (28% – up three percentage points), over the coming year. These are followed by multi-destination trips and cruise (both 17%), and adventure holidays (16%).
The number of people planning to travel in the next 12 months has remained steady, with 70% planning on going abroad, and 56% planning a UK holiday, up two percentage points on the previous year. On the face of it, this seems an encouraging result for the industry, although it comes with a caveat that this data set does not quantify how many holidays people plan to take.
It’s 18-24 year olds and 35-44 year olds who are most likely to say they plan to go abroad (both 72%), followed by 55-64 year olds, at 70% up from 67% the previous year. By life stage, the proportion of families planning on taking a holiday abroad has risen to 80% or more.
ABTA asked those who said they are planning on taking a holiday abroad next year whether they have already booked anything. 46% of people said they had booked something, down from 48% last year; this covers people who have booked all of their planned trips, booked one holiday and plan to book more, or have booked part of a trip(s).
There is a particularly marked shift among 25-34 year olds, with 46% saying they have booked something, compared to 55% last year, indicating a later booking trend coming through for this important age group. There is a similar pattern among families with young children (children under five), as 49% have booked something, down from 54% last year, albeit it is worth noting that figures for older families (children over five) are slightly up on last year (51% and 49% respectively).
When looking at those who have booked all their overseas holidays for the coming year, that stands at 16%, down from 18% last year. This suggests that the pattern of coming back from a summer holiday and immediately securing bookings for the coming year isn’t as quite as prevalent, reflecting a more dispersed and late booking pattern.
ABTA believes that the drive for travel to become more sustainable and have a positive impact should be proactively led by industry, destinations and national and local governments - instead of just responding to consumer behaviour. It is still worth noting that there is an expectation from customers, with 41% saying it is their travel company’s responsibility to manage the impact on the environment and local people, not theirs.
More people say the travel industry is taking action to reduce its impact on the environment – 38% of people agreed with this statement compared to 35% in 2024, and 16% disagreed versus 21% in 2024. Similarly, people are increasingly seeing official certification schemes as helpful for identifying which holidays have a better impact on the environment and local people, at 46% up from 43% in 2024.
Customers also want support and guidance to play their part; 42% said they would like advice from their travel company about how they can make better choices for the environment and local people on holiday. As well as industry taking responsibility for its own action, the industry has the opportunity to help customers make more sustainable choices when planning their holiday and in destination. Levels of concern about overtourism remain at 57%, and there continues to be high awareness of overtourism protests (72%), albeit slightly down on last year (77%).