The number of holidays taken in the last 12 months by residents of the United Kingdom (UK) was divided almost evenly across all age groups. According to data from the first half of 2020, about one third of respondents aged 35 to 44 took at least one holiday. Residents of the UK aged over 55 were most likely to go on more than three holidays during the year.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers examined the average number of holidays taken per person in the previous 12 months from 2011 to 2022. According to the 2022 study, focusing on the vacations made between September 2021 and August 2022, Britons took an average of 3.6 holidays per capita, showing a significant growth over the previous year. The increase was mainly driven by a rebound in the average number of holidays abroad from the UK, following a sharp decline reported in the 2021 survey due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although the share of Britons taking holidays in the past 12 months bounced back in 2022, it did not surpass pre-pandemic levels.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers examined the average number of holidays abroad taken per person in the previous 12 months from 2011 to 2022. According to the 2022 study, looking at the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, UK residents took an average of 1.3 overseas holidays per capita. While this figure denotes an increase from the 2021 survey, focusing on vacations taken during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it remained below pre-pandemic levels.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic hit outbound tourism from the UK? As the travel restrictions enforced during the health crisis disrupted international tourism, the total number of visits abroad from the UK fell dramatically during the pandemic, reaching a record low of around 19 million in 2021. With the sharp decline in visits came a significant drop in the total UK outbound tourism expenditure, decreasing by nearly 47 billion British pounds in 2021 compared to 2019.

What are the most popular destinations for UK travelers? Despite the significant decline in tourists caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain remained the leading outbound travel destination from the UK during the health crisis, recording over four million Britons' visits in 2021. Meanwhile, when focusing on the domestic market, the South West and South East of England were the most popular regions for summer staycations in the UK.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers looked at the average number of domestic holidays taken per person in the previous 12 months from 2011 to 2022. According to the 2022 study, examining the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, Britons took an average of 2.3 domestic vacations. This figure confirmed the trend reported in the 2021 survey, focusing on domestic holidays made in the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The majority of respondents of all age groups in the United Kingdom spent an average of less than four thousand British pounds on holidays each year, according to data from the first half of 2020. Around a third of holidaymakers aged 25 to 35 would spend between one and two thousand pounds on holidays per year (32 percent) and another 26 percent two to four thousand.

The average weekly expenditure on package holidays in the United Kingdom was significantly lower in the 2022 fiscal year compared to 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Over that period, households within the highest ten percent gross income decile group recorded the highest decline in spending. Between April 2021 and March 2022, those households spent an average of 28 British pounds a week on package holidays, reporting a drop of over 30 British pounds compared to 2020.

According to a survey conducted in 2019 and 2022 among British consumers, beach holidays were the most popular type of vacation for Britons. In the 2022 study, looking at the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, 34 percent of respondents claimed to have taken this type of holiday. While travel to beach destinations experienced a drop of seven percentage points compared to the 2019 survey, city breaks recorded an even higher decrease over the same period, ranking second in 2022.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact Britons' outbound holidays? Although most Britons traveled abroad for vacation purposes both before and during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of outbound holiday visits from the UK declined by nearly 85 percent from 2021 to 2019. As the volume of travelers shrunk, the outbound holiday expenditure from the UK followed a similar trend, amounting to around eight billion British pounds in 2021, the lowest figure recorded in a decade.

What are Britons' favorite holiday destinations abroad? In 2021, Spain reported over three million visits by British vacationers, topping the ranking of the leading holiday travel destinations visited by UK residents. Greece, Portugal, and France followed on the list that year. However, all the major holiday destinations for Britons experienced a sharp decline in visits compared to 2019 due to the health crisis.

As of January 8, 2025, more than 60 percent of surveyed respondents in the United Kingdom reported taking days of holidays over the previous month. Based on the January 2024 survey, 21 percent of the sample stated that they had made vacation trips lasting two to three days, making it the most common holiday length that month.

In the United Kingdom, it was more likely for adults aged 25 to 44 to go on holiday with children than any other age group, according to data from the first half of 2020. Respondents aged 55 or older were least likely to have children with them on their holidays.

According to data from Pi Datametrics, Google UK searches for vacations in Spain increased by roughly 2.3 percent in April 2023 over the same month of the previous year. By contrast, Google UK searches for holidays in the United States and Canada declined by around four percent over the same period.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers looked at the share of people taking a vacation in the previous 12 months. According to the 2022 study, examining the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, roughly 45 percent of respondents made a holiday abroad. This figure shows an increase of 29 percentage points compared to the 2021 survey, focusing on the vacations made during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, the share of Britons taking domestic holidays in the past 12 months rose by five percentage points from 2021 to 2022.

Spending on holiday visits abroad by residents of the United Kingdom bounced back in 2022, after shrinking with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the sharp annual increase, the expenditure on outbound vacations from the UK remained below pre-pandemic levels, amounting to roughly 40.2 billion British pounds in 2022. That year, the number of holiday visits abroad from the United Kingdom totaled nearly 46 million.

The average length of stay on holiday visits abroad from the United Kingdom declined in 2022 over the previous year, returning to the levels reported prior to the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On average, UK travelers spent 8.7 nights on their vacations abroad in 2022, while outbound holidays lasted for an average of 10.8 nights in 2021.

The annual number of overnight stays on holiday visits abroad by residents of the United Kingdom increased over the period from 2011 to 2019. The total amount of nights spent on outbound holiday visits from the UK reached around 512 million in 2019. Figures were based on the total number of UK holiday visits abroad.

The average spending on domestic summer holidays - also referred to as staycations - taken by Britons in the United Kingdom (UK) rose to roughly 1,011 British pounds in 2023. This was nearly double the figure from the previous year, when it was estimated that British citizens spent an average of 513 British pounds on staycations.

In the 2023 fiscal year, the share of household expenditure on package holidays among residents of the United Kingdom was higher for every disposable income decile group when compared with the previous financial year. However, the share of spending remained below levels recorded in the 2020 fiscal year for most income groups. The exceptions to this were the sixth decile group and the highest ten percent.

Between the financial years 2020 and 2023, the share of weekly household expenditure on package holidays abroad fluctuated. In the 2023 fiscal year, the decile income group with the highest share of spending was the highest ten percent, which spent 5.7 percent of household income on package holidays abroad.

As of May 21, 2020, about one third of respondents in the United Kingdom planned to spend their annual leave on holidays in the UK if travel abroad was still difficult due to lockdown restrictions. Over a quarter of respondents expected to spend more time at home.

According to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom, spending on domestic package holidays were similar among households across the disposable income decile groups. Overall, majority of households spent 0.3 percent of their weekly household expenditure on domestic package holidays in the fiscal year ending 2022.

This statistic shows the results of a Consumer Insights survey conducted in the United Kingdom in October 2023 and October / November 2024. UK consumers were asked how their holiday plans will be affected by their current financial situation. In 2023, some 21 percent of respondents stated that they will spend significantly less compared to previous years. By 2024 this number had declined to 16 percent.