As the summer holidays approach, Europeans may be about to increase their travel budgets. New research has found that a significant percentage of European travellers plan to spend more on holidays in 2018.

Global travel technology leader Sabre Corporation surveyed more than 4,000 people in the UK, France, Germany and Italy that had travelled within the past 24 months to identify emerging trends when spending on travel and booking flights, hotels and extras.

Of the countries surveyed, the study showed that willingness to increase spend was highest in Italy and the UK, where more than 40 per cent of respondents said they’d be spending more on holidays this year – compared with 28 per cent of French travellers and 30 per cent of Germans. In comparison, the survey indicated that only 15 per cent planned to reduce spend.
 
The study found that travellers were also prepared to spend more than ever on flight and hotel extras that could improve their travel experience – an average of €124 ($144.7).  British travellers were shown to be the highest potential spenders, willing to spend an average of €161 ($187.9) for airline ancillaries and hotel extras – a 17 per cent increase on what they said when Sabre asked a similar question in 2016.
 
“Travellers are becoming increasingly discerning. They know what they want, they are willing to spend more on virtually all aspects of their travel experience – and it’s clear from our research that this willingness is increasing year by year,” said Roshan Mendis, chief commercial officer, Sabre Travel Network. “This represents a great opportunity for players across the travel spectrum. However, to benefit from this anticipated increase in spend, travel companies need to become better retailers and invest in new technology and industry standards – such as Iata’s NDC – to offer travellers what they want based on their unique profiles.”
 
The International Air Transport Association's (Iata) New Distribution Capability (NDC) is expected to transform how travel is sold by making it easier for airlines and third-parties to display rich content across all channels – similar to the way online digital providers indicate unique content for each of their individual users.
 
Where to find the best deal
 
The study found that consumers are willing to spend, but in a travel ecosystem that is increasingly fragmented, the additional revenue might be spread out across various players. Respondents’ opinions were divided on where to start their search for the best deal on their holidays, particularly their flights:
 
• 27 per cent would start with an online travel agent
• 23 per cent would start at an airline’s website
• 17 per cent would start with a metasearch engine
• 15 per cent would start by asking a search engine
• 10 per cent would start by going to their high street travel agent
 
“Travel suppliers are experimenting with the way they sell and market their products, leading to more fragmentation. As the industry becomes more fragmented, there are more places for consumers to consider when looking for travel, and it becomes harder for them to find an offer that’s right for them,” added Mendis. “Our survey indicates that people have dramatically different starting points when booking travel; it’s therefore important that travel suppliers make their content available to travellers through all channels – to foster trust and to simplify the booking process.”
 
What would encourage travellers to spend even more during their trips? For Brits, the survey found that it was all about trust and confidence; 32 per cent would spend more if they knew that they had secured the best deal on their holiday. For French travellers, the study showed that being rewarded for their loyalty came out on top with 33 per cent. Other reasons included receiving more compelling offers from their airlines and hotels (22 per cent), being able to book all components of their travel in one place (20 per cent) and if it was easier to find the products and services they were looking for (14 per cent).
 
Sabre, which processes more than $120 billion in travel spend each year, is committed to supporting airlines and travel agencies by investing beyond Iata’s NDC to develop a true end-to-end retailing solution across all channels in a way that helps solve travel complexity and makes the best possible use out of emerging technologies.
 
The research findings were announced at STX London, which brought together more than 400 airline, hotel and travel agency leaders to discuss and steer the evolution of the industry. - TradeArabia News Service