A survey in the UK has revealed that all-inclusive and package holidays are enjoying a surge in popularity as the main holiday season approaches.
The survey, which was carried out by GfK, an industry analyst, reported that all-inclusive holiday bookings are 14 percent higher this year than at the same time last year. This growth in popularity is believed to be due to the certainty with which this type of holiday can be budgeted for, as all food, drink and entertainment is included in the booking price. The lack of spending requirement also means that the exchange rate and security issues that are associated with taking large sums of cash abroad can also be considerably reduced for the traveller.
The need to contain holiday budgets in these times of downturn was also reflected in the growth of interest in shorter holidays, which saw a 22 percent increase in bookings for holidays of up to 6 days duration.
Package holiday and family holiday bookings are also showing a healthy upward trend, growing by 8 percent and 6 percent respectively, year-on-year. High street travel agents have also managed to buck the general trend towards online bookings in the early part of this year, registering a 2 percent growth compared with where they were this time last year.
According to GfK’s figures, one tourism sector that is currently suffering is the cruise industry. Bad press for cruise lines, including the Costa Concordia disaster and several high profile cases of ships being stranded at sea or passengers falling victim to viral epidemics, appear to have adversely influenced travellers, resulting in a reduction in year-on-year bookings by a sizeable 21 percent.
The survey also revealed that the destinations showing the best growth in bookings included Egypt, Tunisia, Menorca, Croatia and Teneriefe.
