13.9 million Brits set to search for or book a holiday during festive season

New research by Aviva reveals that 13.9 million Brits plan to search or book a holiday during the festive season¹, with top reasons including saving money on holiday deals and having something to look forward to.

According to the research, those who are looking to organise a holiday this Christmas are set to book their upcoming break on three key dates: 24, 27 and 28 December (15% each date), with one in nine (11%) planning to book a holiday on Christmas Day itself.

When looking at why holidaymakers plan to book or search for a break over the festive period, people point to saving money (41%), having something to look forward to after the festive season (30%) and making the most of offers and discounts (24%). One in seven (14%) also cite booking a holiday due to wanting to escape the British weather.

Many Brits are also set to spend a considerable amount of time doing their research. On average, those who plan to book a holiday this Christmas expect to take an average of seven hours to search for their holiday and an additional seven hours to book their trip away. And yet, Aviva research shows that one in nine (11%) of those planning to go on holiday next year admit to never purchasing travel insurance – a figure which is highest in 45-54 year-olds (15%).

Kelly Whittington, Director of Travel Claims at Aviva: “Despite Christmas typically being a busy time, it’s often an opportunity to think about the year ahead and for many, this means planning their next holiday. Though this may be exciting, it’s worrying that one in nine (11%) Brits don’t intend to purchase travel insurance, which means that they are risking being out of pocket by potentially hundreds – if not thousands – of pounds, should the worst happen.

“Travel insurance is designed to help customers in the case of an unforeseen emergency. This could either mean something that occurs on holiday or an incident that happens beforehand which disrupts travel plans. Whilst we all hope the worst won’t happen, accidents or illnesses can occur, and medical expenses can be costly, especially in some countries. By taking out travel insurance as soon as you book a holiday – even if it’s in the UK – you can protect both yourself and your possessions, giving you peace of mind in the lead up to your trip.”

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Enquiries:

Methodology:

Research was conducted by Censuswide with 2,001 nationally representative UK respondents between 15/12/23 - 18/12/23. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct which is based on the ESOMAR principles.

Sources:

^{1. Based on festive season running from 24 December 2023 – 2 January 2024. 13.9 statistic found by combining: 237 (those who intend to book) and 274 (those who intend to search) = 511. 511 is 25.54% of 2001 (the sample size of the research), so 25.54% of 54,711,707 (the ONS 2021 midyear estimate) is 13,973,370, which can be rounded to 13.9 million.}

^{2. Percentage of holidaymakers surveyed who are planning on going on holiday next year in the UK/overseas, and plan to book a holiday over the festive season.}