Travel association ABTA has revealed its top 12 destinations for 2016, with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi leading the way for holidays next year.
The report, released in association with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, also highlights emerging and key trends in travel which will influence holiday habits in the year ahead.
Looking to 2016, the report reveals that almost a quarter (23%) of the population are expecting to spend more on their holidays, up slightly from 20% last year.
Almost one in five people (18%) say they will travel to a country they have never been to before in 2016, compared to 9% who said this last year. Furthermore, nearly a quarter (23%) say they will try a new resort or city (even if they have visited the country before) compared to 10% who said this last year.
ABTA has identified its ’12 Destinations to watch’ for 2016, a mixture of destinations that are expected to capture the public’s imagination in 2016, these are:
Abu Dhabi
Canada
China – the Silk Road
France
Hawaii
Iceland
Iran
Naples and Apulia (Italy)
Peru
Poland
Queensland (Australia)
Sri Lanka
A number of trends appear in the report:
- Western Mediterranean destinations, in particular Spain, are set for a bumper year with bookings for summer 2016 tracking ahead of previous years as 2015 comes to a close. These destinations have been the main beneficiary of a shift towards tried and trusted destinations, with the combination of geopolitical uncertainty and a favourable exchange rate with the Euro prompting British holidaymakers to visit their old favourites in even greater numbers.
- Almost four in ten (39%) people with top jobs (in social grade A**) say they are planning to spend more on holidays in 2016, compared to an average of 23%. People in social grade B are also more likely than average to spend more next year with 27% stating that they plan to do this. Last year, the ‘holiday-haves’, those classified as social grade A, took an average of 8.0 holidays per person, up from 7.4 holidays per person in 2011 and this group looks set to continue to drive growth in the holiday market in 2016.
- Perhaps inspired by past successful transformations of Miami’s South Beach and Barcelona, destinations are repositioning in order to attract specific markets and this is expected to be a key trend for 2016. A high profile example of this trend is Magaluf, which in 2015 introduced new laws and worked with hotel groups to open hotels aimed at a more affluent and more family oriented market.
- Long haul holidays are no longer the preserve of the intrepid traveller. Wider availability of new aircraft, such as Boeing’s Dreamliner and the Airbus A380 is also making long haul travel more attractive, as is the abolition of Air Passenger Duty (APD) bands C and D in April 2015, which is expected to save British holidaymakers £200m a year.
- According to ABTA Members, older holidaymakers are travelling further and are seeking more active or adventurous holidays. New adventure holidays are planned for 2016 to meet demand from customers who ‘grew up in the 1960s and have seen it all’.
The report is available at www.abta.com/traveltrends2016
** Based on NRS social grades
