Beach Holidays - UK - February 2017
“It is still unclear how Brexit negations will affect the overseas holiday market. However, because beach breaks tend to be longer summer holidays, it is likely that sizeable proportion of consumers will cut back on short city breaks in the low seasons before they forgo their main beach break in the summer.”
– Fergal McGivney, Travel Analyst
This Report discusses the following key topics:
- The importance of trusted peer review source
- Crowdsourcing opinions through social networks
- Budget airlines are branching out into the beach package market
- Packages could become more popular if the UK economy enters recession
What you get
What's included
- Consumer Attitudes and Behaviour
- Market data
- Competitive analysis
- Risks and Opportunities
- What’s Next
- Market Trends
This market report provides in-depth analysis and insight supported by a range of data. At the same time, introductory and top-level content is provided to give you an overview of the issues covered.
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Market
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Consumer
Mintel's proprietary consumer research provides our analysts with the attitudinal and behavioral data used to provide valuable insight to topical issues.
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Brand/Company
Mintel provides overviews of the top brands and manufacturers, and uses consumer research to explore attitudes and reactions to brands, as well as insight into what will resonate with consumers.
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Data
Market reports provide appendices of data to support the research and insight produced. Our tables of data are easily manipulated and downloadable to support your research needs and covers factors from consumer attitudes to market forecasts.

* This is a sample representation of the report layout and does not reflect the research included in this report.
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Table of contents
Overview
- What you need to know
- Scope of this Report
- What you need to know
Executive Summary
- The market
- Growth in the beach holiday market
- Figure 1: UK market size for beach holidays, December 2016
- The consumer
- Short-haul destinations likely to benefit in 2017
- Figure 2: Beach holiday destinations visited in the last 12 months, December 2016
- Peer influentials play an important role…
- …but there is still an opportunity to leverage online influentials
- Figure 3: Influencing factors for choosing a beach holiday, December 2016
- A wide array of influencing factors
- Figure 4: Repertoire of influencing factors for choosing a beach holiday, December 2016
- Figure 5: Beach holiday bookings, December 2016
- Just under a third of beach holidaymakers took a winter break
- Figure 6: Time of year for beach holidays, December 2016
- Long-haul versus short-haul beach destinations
- Figure 7: Plans for beach holidays abroad in the next 12 months, December 2016
- Combining beach holidays with other types
- Figure 8: Holiday types interested in, December 2016
- What we think
Issues and Insights
- The importance of trusted peer review source
- The facts
- The implications
- Crowdsourcing opinions through social networks
- The facts
- The implications
- Budget airlines are branching out into the beach package market
- The facts
- The implications
- Packages could become more popular if the UK economy enters recession
- The facts
- The implications
- The importance of trusted peer review source
The Market – What You Need to Know
- Beach holiday volume increases…
- …as does spending
- Fairly positive macroeconomic outlook so far but a slight slowdown on the horizon
- Oil price set to increase in 2017
- Beach market should remain robust in the face of Brexit negations
- Disposable income will be put under pressure due to inflation
- Airlines’ fuel bills to rise by 4%
- Beach holiday volume increases…
Market Size
- 2016; a good year for the beach market
- Figure 9: UK market size for beach holidays, December 2016
- 2016; a good year for the beach market
Market Drivers
- Overseas holiday volume
- Figure 10: Overseas holiday market volume and value*, 2011-21
- Airlines’ fuel bills to rise by 4%
- Figure 11: Europe Brent Spot Price FOB* (Dollars per Barrel), January 2014-January 2017
- Pound remains low against the euro and the US Dollar
- Figure 12: Spot exchange rate, Pound Sterling versus selected currencies, February 2016-February 2017
- Cheap beach holiday destinations in Europe should help the market
- Figure 13: Post Office cost barometer 2017, selected beach destinations
- Overseas holiday volume
Companies and Brands
- Passengers licensed under ATOL protection
- Figure 14: Passengers licensed under ATOL protection, by top 10 ATOL holders, 2011-17
- Passengers licensed under ATOL protection
Launch Activity and Innovation
- On the Beach launches new campaign on Christmas Day 2016
- Figure 15: easyJet’s pay day notification
- On the Beach set to expand across Scandinavia
- On the Beach rolls out Apple TV app
- Crowdfunded campaign buys New Zealand beach
- Snap’s new ad targeting
- On the Beach launches new campaign on Christmas Day 2016
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
- Nearly half of beach holidaymakers go to Spain
- Greece seems to be unaffected by the migrant crisis
- Influencing factors for destination choice
- Most beach holidaymakers book as a package
- Just under a third of beach holidaymakers took a winter break
- Nearly half of beach holidaymakers are planning to go short-haul
- Nearly half of beach holidaymakers go to Spain
Beach Holiday Destinations
- Short-haul destinations likely to benefit in 2017
- Figure 16: Beach holiday destinations visited in the last 12 months, December 2016
- Significant gains for traditional favourites Spain and Italy
- Figure 17: UK residents’ holiday visits to selected beach holiday destinations, Q1-Q3 2015 and 2016
- Short-haul destinations likely to benefit in 2017
Destination Influencing Factors
- Peer influentials play an important role…
- …but there is still an opportunity to leverage online influentials
- Families heavily influenced by tour operators
- Over a third are influenced by an airline’s website
- Figure 18: Influencing factors for choosing a beach holiday, December 2016
- A wide array of influencing factors
- Figure 19: Repertoire of influencing factors for choosing a beach holiday, December 2016
- Peer influentials play an important role…
Beach Holiday Booking
- Two thirds book their beach holiday as a package
- Figure 20: Beach holiday bookings, December 2016
- Younger consumers and seniors most likely to book packages
- Figure 21: Beach holiday bookings, by age, December 2016
- Some long-haul tour operators are now charging more for trips
- Two thirds book their beach holiday as a package
When Beach Holiday was Taken
- Just under a third of beach holidaymakers took a winter break
- Figure 22: Time of year for beach holidays, December 2016
- Reaching out to seniors
- Figure 23: Time of year for beach holidays, by age, December 2016
- Reasons for not taking a winter beach break
- Figure 24: Plans for beach holidays abroad in the next 12 months, December 2016
- Just under a third of beach holidaymakers took a winter break
Beach Holiday Plans
- Long-haul versus short-haul beach destinations
- Plenty of options for cheap beach holiday destinations
- Figure 25: Plans for beach holidays abroad in the next 12 months, December 2016
- Long-haul versus short-haul beach destinations
Beach-plus Holidays
- Combining beach holidays with other types
- Figure 26: Holiday types interested in, December 2016
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Abbreviations
Beach Holidays - UK - February 2017