Brits have officially been priced out of a summer holiday
Key Points
- A third of UK adults (33%) say they will not take a summer holiday this year, with the cost of living the top pressure on travel plans.
- 42% cite cost of living as the biggest factor, ahead of accommodation costs (32%) and airfares (29%).
- Parents are more likely to book (40% vs 32%) and to expect a higher budget (41% vs 31%) than non-parents.
- 19% are swapping international trips for domestic holidays, and 31% are travelling off-peak to save money.
- 36% expect to spend more this summer than last year, against 21% who expect to spend less.
A third of UK adults (33%) say they will not take a summer holiday this year, as the cost of living emerges as the single biggest pressure on travel plans, according to a new YouGov survey of 2,089 adults conducted in May.
Cost of living tops the list of factors shaping summer travel, cited by 42% of UK adults, ahead of hotel and accommodation costs at 32% and airfare prices at 29%.
The squeeze runs deeper among people without children. 44% of non-parents say the cost of living is influencing their plans, compared with 40% of parents, and non-parents are also more likely to flag accommodation costs (34% vs 30%) and airfares (32% vs 27%).
Beyond money, around one in five UK adults point to safety or geopolitical concerns (19%) and work commitments (18%), while 15% cite weather or climate worries.
37% of UK adults have already booked their summer travel, 14% have not yet booked, and a further 14% remain unsure. Parents are markedly more committed than non-parents, with 40% already booked against 32%, while 36% of non-parents say they do not intend to travel at all this year compared with 31% of parents.
Staycations and school holidays
The data also points to a clear staycation swing among those who still plan to get away. 19% are choosing a domestic holiday over international travel, 18% are reducing spending during the trip itself, 17% are picking cheaper destinations, and 16% are taking shorter breaks.
Parents are more likely than non-parents to swap an overseas holiday for a domestic one (21% vs 16%), while non-parents lean towards cheaper destinations (18% vs 15%) and trimming spending on the trip (20% vs 17%).
Even so, 41% of UK adults say they have not changed their summer plans at all, including 43% of parents and 39% of non-parents.
Travelling outside peak dates has become the most common way to cut costs, used by 31% of UK adults, ahead of booking earlier to lock in lower prices (21%) and comparing travel websites before booking (20%).
Non-parents are more likely to travel off-peak (34% vs 28%), while parents stick closer to home (20% vs 16%) and are far more likely to book ATOL-protected holidays (20% vs 12%), which guarantee a refund or repatriation if a travel provider collapses. Around 19% of UK adults say they are taking no specific money-saving measures at all.
Not all doom and gloom
Despite the pressure, more people expect to spend more this summer than less.
36% of UK travellers expect a higher budget than last year, against 21% who expect a lower one, while 30% say their spending will stay about the same.
Parents are driving the increase, with 41% expecting to spend more compared with 31% of non-parents, including 11% of parents who say their budget will be much higher.
Geopolitical instability is also reshaping where Britons feel comfortable going. YouGov DestinationIndex data found that the ongoing Iran conflict has shifted consumer perceptions of destinations including Dubai, Turkey, Israel and the United States, feeding the wider mood of caution.
The findings suggest that while inflation and instability are pulling at household travel budgets, families with children remain the most determined to protect the summer break, adapting through domestic trips, cheaper destinations or simply paying more.
