Overseas weddings are up thanks to the ‘George Clooney effect’, claims a report out today.
The research, by high-end travel company and wedding and honeymoon specialist Kuoni shows that honeymoon spending is at an all-time high, that couples of seeking adventure on their holiday of a lifetime and that the growth is fuelled in part by celebrities.
Enquiries for weddings in Italy have increased by 20 per cent since George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin in Venice last year.
The rise in couples getting married abroad is part of a growing trend for celebration travel, according to Kuoni’s first wedding and honeymoon report.
The type of honeymoons newly married couples take have also changed significantly in a generation.
In the 1970s and moving into the 1980s, honeymoons tended to focus around a fly-and-flop beach getaway to recharge and indulge after all the excitement and stress of a wedding. Today, couples are slightly older and increasingly well-travelled.
The average spend on a honeymoon with Kuoni is at an all-time high at £5,743 per booking, slightly higher than the national average of £3,111 per booking. That’s up from £4,548 five years ago.
The Maldives have been the outright winner for honeymoons since 1999, while the United Arab Emirates has risen steadily since 2004 through the ranks to second place in the honeymoon top ten for 2015, revealing couples’ appreciation for Dubai and, increasingly, Abu Dhabi.
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Mauritius remain in strong positions as perennial favourites and have remained in the top 10 since 1999. Indonesia was a new entry into the top 10 in 2009 and has moved to sixth place in 2015 thanks to an increasing choice of boutique hotels in Bali and Lombok.
Another destination seeing growth in honeymoons is Mexico, which was a new entry in Kuoni’s top 10 honeymoon list for 2015 showing demand for quality all-inclusive is high.
Derek Jones, managing director of Kuoni UK, said: “Weddings and honeymoons account for a large share of our business, so we’re in a strong position to see trends in the market. In a generation we’ve seen a real shift – from relatively straightforward fly and flop holidays to a single destination to more multi-centre trips. Today, couples really want to push the boat out for something extra special, it’s not just about where they go, but how they book.”
