Consumers want to take shorter, more frequent holidays in the UK this year. How is your brand supporting them in their quest to find the perfect staycation?

Last week, we asked 3000 consumers in the UK what steps they’d taken to fulfil their health & wellness goals for the upcoming year. We also asked the them what, if any, travel aspirations they had set for 2019 and the results were equally fascinating.

The top travel aspiration for consumers is to take more frequent, shorter trips within the UK, with nearly a quarter (22%) of the sample saying this was their primary travel aim. It seems as if the ‘staycation’ is set to assume new popularity this year as people put away their passports and pick up their ‘Best British Pub Guides’.

However, that’s not to say holidays to Europe are totally off the cards, as 18% of 18-34 year olds surveyed said they planned on taking more frequent, shorter breaks to Europe this year - 6% more than the total sample. It is possible this slight increase is linked to millennials wanting to make the most of Britain’s current EU status before Brexit plans take full effect.

In terms of length, short trips rather than long trips are the order of the day for 18-34 year olds, 46% of whom said they wanted to take more frequent but shorter trips this year, either within the UK, Europe or to destinations further afield.

So it seems as if the travel landscape is changing as young, dynamic players continue to shape and reshape it in 2019. Long, exotic holidays to far flung corners of the earth aren’t even pipe dreams for millennials. On the contrary, they want short, sharp bursts of holiday in places close to home. This coincides with some wider travel trends we’ve observed, such as the fact millennials are traveling more than any other generation and that intermittent, experience-based trips are taking precedence over lengthy, international holidays.

As more millennials say goodbye to the beach cabana in the Caribbean and hello to the underground bunker or treehouse cabin in the New Forest, brands have a role to play in fulfilling this desire for unique, experience-based holidays and making them more readily available to consumers.

How is your brand championing the staycation and helping consumers escape their everyday life?

BY ENGINEER Amber Williams

amber.williams@thevalueengineers.com