UK holidaymaker sentiment survey for February 2022: Little change, but all eyes are on Ukraine conflict
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, February 28, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The focus of the western world is on the unfolding invasion of Ukraine. Travelscoop, the online holiday comparison website, has conducted a snap survey of its members to assess the impact of the conflict on sentiment to book holidays and to travel internationally.
Of the 4,503 members who took part in the survey, 82% said that the conflict has not changed their intention to book a spring or summer break in any way. A further 11% said that the conflict was unlikely to affect their intention to book, but that it would likely cause a delay in booking. Covid-19 remains the primary reason behind delayed bookings, with 72% of respondents intending to book holidays or flights no more than 2 months in advance of travel. This is born out in search activity on the Travelscoop website, with March, April and May travel windows accounting for 80% of searches.
Travelscoop has seen very little change in the percentage of holiday searches for Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe. Turkey consistently accounted for 5% of searches through January and February and Croatia 3%. Both destinations are down in percentage terms on 2019 however, which accounted for 11% and 6% pre-pandemic. Hungary, which shares a border with Ukraine, isn’t faring as well. City break searches for Budapest are almost non-existent. Since city break bookings are yet to fully recover from pandemic related travel barriers, it’s too early to tell whether the lack of interest in Hungary is being affected by the conflict or the continuing decay in democracy within the country.
On the results of the survey, Paul Fisher, founder of Travescoop concludes: “While the conflict in Ukraine doesn’t seem to have impacted sentiment to book travel directly, we’ve seen a definite pause in booking activity over the last week of February as events have unfolded. All eyes have been on our eastern European neighbours and - rightly - thoughts of booking holidays have been pushed to the back of our minds. We expect the recovery in bookings to recommence and continue through March and into the spring”.
About Travelscoop
Travelscoop aims to help UK consumers save money on holidays and travel. Founded in 2017 and powered by travel bloggers, the site sources travel deals, holiday competitions and provides money-saving tips. In 2020 Travelscoop acquired Simply Holiday Deals and now has over 500k members and 300k social media followers.
Of the 4,503 members who took part in the survey, 82% said that the conflict has not changed their intention to book a spring or summer break in any way. A further 11% said that the conflict was unlikely to affect their intention to book, but that it would likely cause a delay in booking. Covid-19 remains the primary reason behind delayed bookings, with 72% of respondents intending to book holidays or flights no more than 2 months in advance of travel. This is born out in search activity on the Travelscoop website, with March, April and May travel windows accounting for 80% of searches.
Travelscoop has seen very little change in the percentage of holiday searches for Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe. Turkey consistently accounted for 5% of searches through January and February and Croatia 3%. Both destinations are down in percentage terms on 2019 however, which accounted for 11% and 6% pre-pandemic. Hungary, which shares a border with Ukraine, isn’t faring as well. City break searches for Budapest are almost non-existent. Since city break bookings are yet to fully recover from pandemic related travel barriers, it’s too early to tell whether the lack of interest in Hungary is being affected by the conflict or the continuing decay in democracy within the country.
On the results of the survey, Paul Fisher, founder of Travescoop concludes: “While the conflict in Ukraine doesn’t seem to have impacted sentiment to book travel directly, we’ve seen a definite pause in booking activity over the last week of February as events have unfolded. All eyes have been on our eastern European neighbours and - rightly - thoughts of booking holidays have been pushed to the back of our minds. We expect the recovery in bookings to recommence and continue through March and into the spring”.
About Travelscoop
Travelscoop aims to help UK consumers save money on holidays and travel. Founded in 2017 and powered by travel bloggers, the site sources travel deals, holiday competitions and provides money-saving tips. In 2020 Travelscoop acquired Simply Holiday Deals and now has over 500k members and 300k social media followers.
Paul Fisher
Travelscoop / Mixed Message Media Ltd
press@mixedmessagemedia.co.uk
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