"As later booking becomes the norm, brands must provide reassurance, highlight value and offer a seamless digital booking journey to capture demand."
Sinead O'Connor, Travel Analyst
A clear late-booking shift is shaping the 2026 holiday market, with British holidaymakers increasingly booking their main holiday between March/April and June. This is especially true for more affluent consumers, with 43% of UK holidaymakers earning £75k+ now planning to book between April-June, overtaking earlier booking behaviours. This reflects a more deliberate, ‘wait-and-see’ approach, where even high-income travellers delay commitment until conditions and products feel right.
The Iran conflict has delivered a short, sharp shock to the market, causing a temporary pause in spring demand as uncertainty peaked. However, the greater threat to the market is from rising cost pressures in the wake of the conflict. The rising price of fuel, food and travel will weigh on budgets and weaken consumer confidence in the mid-term, prolonging cautious booking behaviour.
Looking ahead, the biggest opportunity lies in the shift towards emotion-led travel. Only 25% of UK travellers cite the destination as a key driver, with connection, relaxation and escapism taking precedence. The biggest threat remains cost-of-living pressures, with 71% still in a crisis mindset, intensifying pressure on finances and prolonging delayed booking behaviours.
This Report examines the behaviours and attitudes of UK adults concerning how they research and book domestic and overseas holidays. Mintel defines a holiday as a stay of at least one night that is primarily for leisure purposes. Business trips and visiting friends or relatives are not included.
An adult, for the purposes of Mintel’s research, is anyone aged 16 or over.
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel asked a number of questions to UK adults about the ‘main holiday’ they are planning to take in the next 12 months. This was defined as the holiday on which they plan to spend the most in terms of travel and accommodation.
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