Average British holiday budgets rise to £5,500

The hospitality sector is set to benefit from an 8% increase in the average British household annual holiday budget in 2015, according to results from a recent survey. 

Conducted on behalf of TripAdvisor by independent research firm Ipsos, the TripBarometer Global Travel Economy analyses more than 44,000 global responses from travellers and the hotel sector with 3,753 respondents from the UK.

The findings, which demonstrate increasing consumer confidence in most of the markets surveyed, found that four in 10 travellers around the world plan to spend more on holidays in 2015, with Russia and Greece the only markets where travellers are planning to decrease their holiday spend.

For UK travellers planning to spend more this year, visiting somewhere on their wish list was the most popular reason, cited by four in 10 respondents (43%). Of those travellers who are upping their budgets, Britons (38%) are more likely to do so in order to take long haul trips than the average traveller worldwide (32%).

Despite this, domestic travel remains popular in the UK, with nearly half (49%) of all Britons holidaying staying within the UK.

Additionally, the average British household holiday budget rose to an estimated £5,500 – an increase on 8% last year – suggesting that UK hoteliers stand to gain from a boost in domestic holiday spending.

UK travellers are among the top five in the world for projected annual spend in 2015, after Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Looking at the overall Hotelier Confidence Index rankings, which gives each country a score on a five-point scale to show how they compare to other markets, the UK hotel sector was modestly positive scoring 3.42. The UK industry confidence was highest when it came to profitability, scoring 4.05.

However this was less positive in comparison to other markets, particularly emerging markets. Indonesia, Mexico and India lead the global rankings while France were the least positive of the 27 markets surveyed.

Some 48% of British hoteliers plan to raise room rates in 2015, and of those who are planning an increase, 45% say this is because they have recently completed renovations on their property.

Marc Charron, president at TripAdvisor for Business, said: “This year’s TripBarometer reveals a rising confidence in the global hotel sector, with one in two hoteliers raising room rates and significant growth in optimism worldwide. Increasing repeat business, driving more direct bookings, and encouraging online traveller reviews will be key themes for the hotel sector this year.”