Brits look set to try something new with their upcoming holiday plans, according to a yearly rundown of the top destinations to watch.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has revealed a healthy mix of long and short-haul destinations that are likely to see lifts in their visitor figures as 2015 plays out.
Among those listed are the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Japan and Singapore, while there’s also room for surprise inclusions such as Botswana, Latvia and America’s Pacific Coast.
Holidaymakers could make their way through a fair selection of ABTA’s ones to watch if data from bookings made in 2014 is anything to go by. Last year, the average Briton enjoyed three trips abroad, although ABTA claimed that people were still playing it safe with their places to visit.
Ones to watch
The Peloponnese was listed as a key destination to look out for by ABTA, who appears to be taking note of the Greek island’s draw for tourists. Alongside it, ABTA representatives tipped a big year for sunny destinations including the Spanish island of La Gomera, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The group claimed that unfamiliar destinations were starting to worm their way into the public eye due to a growing need among Brits to try something new.
In ABTA’s 2014 Consumer Holiday Trends Report, it was found that 35% of Brits were looking to take a holiday to somewhere they hadn’t yet visited. In addition, 48% said there were either “quite likely” or “practically certain” to book into a new resort or explore a new city in the near future.
Confidence picks up
Moving away from key destinations and onto key trends, ABTA stated that holidaymakers will look to maximise their budgets by taking in events and shows during their time abroad.
City breaks are expected to be favoured over beach holidays in 2015, much like they were in 2014, while agents have been told to anticipate holidaymakers demanding authentic experiences when they trip abroad.
ABTA’s Travel Trends report also stated that confidence in general would return to the UK market this year as only 15% of Brits are planning on reducing their holiday spend.
Strong growth is expected to come from the affluent group, fuelled by wealthy travel buyers gaining confidence, and ABTA claimed this may improve the demand for luxury and tailor-made packages.