Brits crowned most internet-savvy travellers in Europe

The 11^th Ipsos-Europ Assistance Holiday Barometer finds:

• Most Brits are still going on holiday: 61% are planning a break between June and September    
  • ...figures very similar to those recorded in Germany (60%) and Belgium (61%)
  • ...though behind the French (68%) and Italians (78%)
• We’re less likely to be going away than we were.  This year’s 61% in Britain compares with 64% in 2010 and 2009, and 67% in 2008)
• The Brits have traditionally been a group which is more likely to go away several times, rather than have a single, longer break.  This pattern is still there, though less pronounced: 33% are planning to get away several times this year, down from 42% in 2008
• Those Brits who are going away have cut their budget by 6% compared with last year
• In 2005, 28% of Europeans reserved their holidays online.  This figure now stands at 57%.  Among British holidaymakers, the proportion reserving online now stands at 71% - the highest in Europe. 
• Brits abroad: 29% of British holidaymakers will stay in the UK.  A similar proportion of Gemans will be staying at home (32%)
  • …at the other end of the spectrum are the 60% of French and 69% of Italians who will holiday in their own country
• Just over half of British holidaymakers are planning to go to the seaside (53%)
  • … a relatively modest figure when compared to the 69% of Germans and 74% of Italians who are going to the beach
• In contrast, the Brits are most likely than any other European nation to be going on a tour (29%) compared to a European average of 18%

Technical Note

The 11^thIpsos/Europ Assistance Holiday Barometer interviewed 3,500 Europeans aged 18 years and over (French, German, British, Italian, Spanish, Belgian and Austrian), from February 14th to March 28th, 2011. The study was conducted by telephone. 

• Download the press release
• Download the reports

For more information, contact Fabienne Simon or Austragésila Evora.