- EU still accounts for 80% of summer holiday bookings
- Most popular EU destination is Spain, followed by Portugal and Greece
- All Inclusive searches down by 5.4%, with room-only product more than doubling
- icelolly.com CEO calls on politicians to ‘create the right conditions that will allow the UK to thrive’ post-Brexit
icelolly.com CEO Richard Singer has called on politicians to avoid any ‘constitutional crisis’ by working together to resolve the Brexit debacle by showing the same resilience as British holidaymakers, who remain optimistic and still want to travel despite political and economic uncertainty.
Despite the prospect of an uncertain future, and a recent YouGov survey suggesting that holidays are the number one purchase consumers are delaying due to Brexit, the UK’s most visited holiday comparison website has found an even appetite for holidays pre-summer and during summer.
Throughout January and February, European destinations accounted for c.80% of icelolly search traffic, indicating that enthusiasm for travelling to the EU does not appear to have suffered compared to last year.
Spanish resorts continue to be the most popular destinations, accounting for seven places in icelolly’s summer top ten. However, the Spanish stranglehold on searches weakens in the summer with the popularity of other EU countries such as Portugal and Greece increasing.
Concerns around currency fluctuations don’t seem to have affected travel to non-EU countries either, with the most popular non-EU destinations are Turkey, Egypt, Mexico, the UAE and the U.S.
In the first two months of the year, 39% of icelolly customers chose an All Inclusive package, with 20% picking self-catering and a further 19% room-only. However, in the last few weeks, surprisingly, searches for All Inclusive are down by 5.4%, with room-only product more than doubling – challenging the idea that the possible impact of Brexit on the value of sterling vs the Euro would see holidaymakers turn to All Inclusive packages to lock in to the best value.
While higher-end holidays account for the majority of searches, visitors to the deals website are now more likely to select a 2 or 3 star property than a year ago, with the share of searches rising to 21.7% from 17.2%. There was no change in demand for European City Breaks in the run-up to the Brexit deadline, with trips of below five days accounting for 25% of search traffic.
Richard Singer, CEO, icelolly.com, said: With the UK being one of the biggest markets for Europe, it’s unlikely that popular destinations will risk putting Brits off by allowing holidays to become prohibitively expensive in a post-Brexit world. Coupled with the European Parliament voting to allow UK airlines to fly in the EU in the event of No Deal, there is real cause for optimism.
“Unlike last year, where there was a strong Peaks but softer Lates market due to the warm UK weather and World Cup, it’s likely that the opposite will happen this year. It’s been a sluggish peaks, and the general consensus is that there will be flurry of last minute bookings from April onwards if there is clarity on our Brexit position. Research has proven that the appetite to go on holiday is as strong as ever, but people are delaying their purchase until Brexit has been resolved. A short extension to article 50 may simply delay this further into the core travel period.
“Whatever their political and personal motivations in delaying the process, it is vital that the elected representatives from all parties work together to create the right conditions that will allow the UK to thrive once – if – it exits the EU.
“Our focus at icelolly remains to simplify what can be a complicated and frustrating process for many by inspiring holidaymakers, showcasing the best value deals for customers and providing tips and information so that they can book with confidence.”
-Ends-
Notes to editor:
At-a-Glance Stats
• Pre Brexit split – 75.5% EU – 24.5% Non-EU destinations
• Summer split – 80.1% EU – 19.9% Non- EU destinations
• No decrease in demand for short breaks as we have moved closer to the Brexit deadline with breaks of under 5 days accounting for 25% of searches
• Reduction in the share of All Inclusive searches (down 5.4% YOY), mostly driven by increasing propensity to select a room-only product, which has more than doubled.
• Higher-end holidays account for 78.3% of searches. However, more users are likely to select a 2 or 3 star property than a year ago, with the share of searches rising to 21.7% from 17.2%.
• The Spanish stranglehold on searches on the site weakens in the summer with the popularity of other EU countries such as Greece and Portugal increasing.
Top Destinations
Top Ten European destinations this Winter/Spring (packages)
- Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
- Costa Blanca, Spain
- Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Lanzarote, Canary, Islands, Spain
- Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
- Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain
- Algarve, Portugal
- Costa Del Sol, Spain
- Rome, Italy
Top Ten European destinations this summer (packages)
- Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
- Costa Blanca, Spain
- Algarve, Portugal
- Lanzarote, Canary, Islands, Spain
- Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
- Costa Del Sol, Spain
- Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Crete, Greece
- Corfu, Greece
Top Ten Non-European Destinations this Winter/Spring (packages)
- Egypt
- Antalya, Turkey
- Dalaman, Turkey
- Dubai, UAE
- Cape Verde
- Marrakech, Morocco
- Cancun, Mexico
- Dominican Republic
- Florida, USA
- New York, USA
Top Ten Non-European Countries this summer (packages)
- Dalaman, Turkey
- Antalya, Turkey
- Egypt
- Cancun, Mexico
- Dubai, UAE
- Marrakech, Morocco,
- Dominican Republic
- Hammamet, Tunisia
- Florida, USA
- Cape Verde
For more information, please contact: ian.benjafield@icelolly.com
About icelolly.com
icelolly.com compares more holiday deals than any other website in the UK. With more than 20 million visitors each year generating over 40m search queries and one of the largest Social followings in travel, icelolly.com allows customers to compare and save on millions of package holidays, cruises, UK breaks and more from leading travel companies. Named the UK’s fastest growing holiday comparison website according to Hitwise, icelolly.com’s growing stature as one of the UK’s leading travel brands was recognised by customers and the industry alike in 2018. The company was named ‘Rising Brand of the Year 2018’ at the Travolution Awards, also winning for ‘Best Use of Social Media’; ‘Travel & Tourism eCommerce Website of the Year 2018′ at the Northern eCommerce Awards; ’Innovation in Integration: Combining Tech Powers’ at the 2018 dotmailer Email Marketing Awards: the dotties and most recently, ‘Best Website’ at the Northern Digital Awards 2019.