Holidays still a ‘priority’, but cost-conscious travel is on the rise

It has been quite the year for the travel industry, with the Middle East conflict and heatwaves causing major disruption for holidaymakers while the cost of living crisis has seen people tightening their belts.

But that hasn’t stopped people from prioritising their vacations, with 70% of adults planning to travel abroad in the next 12 months, according to ABTA’s Holiday Habits report 2026/27.

Based on polling of more than 2,000 adults based in the UK, the new research shows that holidays are still a “priority”, but that “cost-conscious” travel is on the rise.

Just 7% of people said that the cost of living crisis would mean they would not go on holiday at all next year, but 21% said they would book cheaper accommodation, and 19% would eat out less while away.

Package holidays are proving popular as a result of the cost of living crisis, with 48% of those booking one saying they were doing so as it was the best value option for the price, up from 43% last year.

While the percentage of people who took a cruise in 2026 is stable (13%), the percentage of people planning to do so next year is rising (17%), and the reasons for doing so are reflecting the need for cost-conscious trips.

Some of the main reasons cited for booking a cruise are value for money (52%, up from 49%) and being able to pay for everything up front (40%, up from 38%).

“We continue to love our holidays and the desire to travel remains strong; this looks set to continue despite the ease of getting away, for some, being affected by geopolitical and economic challenges,” Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA – The Travel Association, said.

“When times are uncertain, booking with an expert ABTA member gives holidaymakers added confidence. And, in a ‘value for money’ market, they are excellently placed to find people a fantastic holiday at a budget that works for them.”

City breaks overtake beach escapes

City breaks were the most popular holiday type in the last 12 months for UK travellers, with 53% of those polled going on one, up from 48% last year, while 49% of people went on a beach break.

Of those surveyed, the third most popular type was a countryside break (23%), followed by a multi-destination trip (16%), adventure holiday (14%), cruise (13%), lake and mountains (10%), and wellness (9%).

Europe remained the most popular choice for holidays, with certain destinations seeing an uptick in visitors as people avoided the Middle East or avoided travelling via the region.

For Brits, the top country over the past 12 months was Spain, with 36% of those surveyed having visited.

Portugal overtook Germany as the sixth most visited destination, behind France (24%), Italy (15%), the US (14%) and Greece (12%), with 11% having visited.

The top 10 was rounded out by Türkiye, Australia and Cyprus.

Read the full article here