British Consumers Favor Cheaper Destinations, UK Holidays, Hitwise Says

Hitwise, the leading online competitive intelligence service and an Experian company, reveals that UK Internet searches for flights have fallen by 42 percent over the last 12 months.

January is a key month for the travel industry, as UK consumers’ thoughts turn from Christmas shopping to booking their summer holidays, but the economic downturn means that consumers are being more cautious when booking flights abroad this year.

As a result of the weak pound, people are switching from holidays in the Eurozone or U.S. and considering cheaper destinations such as Turkey and North Africa, or considering taking their holidays at home.

UK Internet searches for flights increased by 58 percent between the weeks ending 27/12/08 and 03/01/09, but they were down by 42.4 percent when compared with the equivalent post-Christmas week last year.

Flights to the U.S. experienced the biggest annual fall in searches of 52.2 percent. Searches for flights to countries that use the Euro fell by 44.8 percent, while searches for flights to the UK and the Rest of the World also fell, but at a smaller rate.

Of all the major holiday locations favored by Britons, Turkey experienced the smallest decline in flight searches over the last 12 months –a fall of 24.6 percent compared with an average of 42.4 percent for all destinations. At the same time, Turkey overtook Canada and Thailand to become the second most popular non-euro/dollar destination for British tourists.

Australia remains the most popular non-Euro/Dollar destination for British tourists, accounting for almost a quarter of all searches for flights to destinations outside of the UK, U.S.A and Eurozone. Searches for flights to Australia have fallen by 32.85 percent over the last 12 months, but this is at a lower rate than for many other destinations.

Only five destinations have experienced an increase in flight searches over the last 12 months: Norway, Denmark, Brazil, Morocco and Cuba.