'Escapism on agenda' as travellers react to slump

HOLIDAY TRENDS:CONSUMERS ARE increasingly revealing a pent-up desire for leisure and holidays after a period of austerity and fear, according to research compiled by market analysts at Mintel.

Growth in the travel sector will be driven by over-50s who are refusing to grow old gracefully, according to Julie Sloan, director of Mintel Ireland, who is predicting that escapism will be one of the big consumer trends of 2010.

“Escapism need not mean holidays or leisure activities, though,” she said. “Something like exercise in the gym can also be pitched as healthy escapism.”

In spite of the generally gloomy forecasts for the sector, Sloan is predicting that holidays abroad can be expected to grow, partly because of recent dreadful summers but also because of pent-up demand.

A quarter of consumers said last year that they planned to cut back on foreign holidays, up from 20 per cent in 2008. However, a far greater number, 73 per cent, said they liked the idea of a holiday abroad, a rise of 6 percentage points from the previous year, she pointed out.

Consumers are showing themselves to be increasingly savvy about affordability and the value to be had by spending the strong euro in countries outside the eurozone.

An example of this trend is the rising popularity of low-cost camping holidays; for instance, Ryanair reported a 60 per cent increase in sales of its camping packages last year.

Older age groups are seen as a growth market, as many enjoy secure pensions or have amassed considerable savings, even allowing for the crash in financial markets. Forty-one per cent of Irish over-50s say they plan to spend more time on holiday or seeing the world in the next five years.

Mintel says that ethical shopping will continue as a big trend in 2010 but that its effect will be limited by the fact that people do not always practise what they preach. Sloan says consumers are reluctant to take action themselves and want retailers and brands to do it for them. “For instance, most people will not stop flying for ethical reasons, although price consciousness may be having more of an impact.”

Thus, while half of consumers feel strongly about climate change, only 14 per cent say they are likely to holiday at home because of the recession. “Consumers may want to save the planet, but more want to save money, so they are looking to companies with ethical responsibility.”