As we approach the end of 2023, we’re pleased to share some of the findings from our annual survey, which gains key insights into where and how our users will be travelling in the coming year.
This year’s survey was completed by almost 10,000 travel enthusiasts, explorers and holiday makers from across five of our markets - the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy - and covered a range of topics including solo travel, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and overtourism.
A personal touch
Firstly, with the rise of AI technology, we asked our users how important tips, guides and personal recommendations from travel experts are when they’re looking for holidays.
The response showed that this personal touch still adds a lot of value to the planning process, with 62% of total survey respondents saying that insightful content and recommendations from travel experts are very or extremely important when researching holidays.
Jet setting
For our next question we asked our users where they are planning to go for their main holiday in 2024.
We found that in the UK, Germany and France there was a fairly even split between those holidaying in Europe and those choosing to travel outside of Europe. However, in Italy and Spain more of our users will stay within Europe for their main holiday next year.
Many of our users also stated that they weren’t yet sure where they would go on their main holiday next year - perhaps because they are holding off for the best last-minute deals!
Escaping the crowds
With many countries and destinations introducing measures to reduce overtourism, we wanted to find out if this would affect where our users are planning to visit in the future.
Over half of the respondents in each market said they would be actively avoiding tourist hotspots, and this was particularly prevalent in France, where 77% of users said they would choose an alternative destination to avoid the crowds.
Robo-travel
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a very big topic within the travel industry, and we were keen to find out if our users would trust AI to plan their next holiday.
Interestingly, while the vast majority of respondents from the UK, France, Italy and Spain would currently not trust AI to make decisions about their travel plans, this was not the case with our German users. In fact, over half (62%) would fully embrace this technology as part of planning their next trip.
Travelling solo
Finally, we wanted to find out how many of our users were planning to take a solo trip in 2024. The results were very similar for each market, with around 25% of respondents saying they would be going on a holiday alone next year.
Reasons for this included a need for independence when travelling, more flexibility, and stepping outside of their comfort zone.
Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey and shared their travel plans for next year - we look forward to seeing what 2024 holds!
HolidayPirates, the UK arm of the HolidayPirates Group, is a travel deals platform with a mission to make travel accessible and affordable for everyone.
Our team of travel experts find and curate the best value-for-money deals from packages, flights and hotels, through to car hire, holiday homes, luxury stays and weekend breaks. We also work with leading travel brands to source exclusive offers that simply cannot be found anywhere else.
HolidayPirates takes the time and hassle out of finding genuine travel bargains by sharing deals directly across our website, WhatsApp, newsletters, mobile app, and on social media. 2 million travel enthusiasts visit our website every month, plus we have over 2.2 million followers on social media – the largest of any travel brand in the UK.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Berlin, the HolidayPirates Group operates in 10 countries – the UK, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Our expert editorial teams around the world inspire over 20 million consumers every month to travel, explore and holiday more for less.
Annabelle Rennie
PR & Communications Manager UK
E-Mail: [email protected]
E-Mail: [email protected]
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