British Airways has announced the results of a survey, which looked at how British travellers planned their holidays and to see if Brits were ‘panic bookers’ or if they planned well in advance, the airline said.
The survey, conducted by Ginger Comms on behalf of British Airways in June 2016, found that British travellers do not enjoy spontaneity when it is about a big annual trip, with more than half – 57 per cent – saying they’ve panic booked a holiday, leaving them feeling stressed (36 percent), annoyed (19 percent) and panicked or worried (18 percent).
Most travellers book their holidays seven weeks in advance, although that changes by region with the Welsh and those from the South East looking for an eight-week gap, while the Northern Irish are happy with 5.4 weeks preparation time. Within that, 45-59 year-olds are the most organised booking at 7.7 weeks out, while 16-29 year olds are more laid back, waiting until 6.5 weeks out.
While 41 per cent of the 1,000 surveyed said that they do run out of leave quickly in the year, the figure varied significantly by age – with 57 per cent of 16-29 years olds concurring, whereas only 26 per cent of 45-59 year olds agreed.
Nearly half (48 per cent) of Brits find that their preferred leave period had been snapped up by colleagues, while everyone surveyed said they had missed out on at least one holiday in the last year, due to a lack of annual leave.
Claire Bentley, managing director of British Airways Holidays, said: ‘We don’t get much leave as a country and according to our survey there are quite a few hurdles to get over to organise a holiday, including co-ordinating leave with colleagues, giving ourselves enough time to organise it and leaving enough free for life admin.
‘At British Airways Holidays we work hard to make booking a trip as easy as possible, from our 24-hour customer hotline to offering a holiday deposit from just GBP150. And with our current sale, which only runs for another week, there are all sorts of trips to be snapped up suiting everyone from the most laid back, last-minute booker through to the most organised travellers who plan months ahead.’
The survey result come as Brits have taken only one-third of their average annual leave quote, of 21 days, so far. While 21-days is the average leave amount, Scots have an annual leave of 23.7 days, nearly four days more than the Northern Irish who get the least at just 19 days, the airline said in its release, adding that everyone will spend at least seven days of their allowance on ‘personal admin’.
