Foreign travel down 13% as home holidays rise

SURVEY:THE RECESSION is having a major effect on Irish people's holiday plans with 25 per cent admitting they changed their plans this year as a result of worsening financial circumstances and a similar number saying they were holidaying at home because they could not afford an overseas trip.

The research carried out by property website myhome.ie, found that 27 per cent of people had their main holiday in Ireland this year, up 3 per cent on 2010, while 40 per cent are going abroad, a drop of 13 per cent on last year.

A further 13 per cent of the 2,000 people surveyed said they would not take any holiday at all this year – up 3 per cent on 2010.

There appears to be a considerable degree of dissatisfaction with the airline industry with 25 per cent of people saying high baggage charges were the biggest turn off when it came to booking holidays and twice that number saying they did not believe air fares had fallen despite the deepening recession.

Value for money is now the main consideration for Irish holidaymakers with 40 per cent describing it as the key factor in deciding their holiday destination, whether at home or abroad. Some 20 per cent of holidaymakers said location was the key driver in their decision while activities on offer and the weather were most important for 14 per cent of those polled.

For those holidaying in Ireland, 26 per cent said they were doing so for financial reasons with 17 per cent saying it was to support the local economy.

The managing director of MyHome.ie Angela Keegan said that despite the economic gloom, there was some positive news in the survey for the domestic tourism sector and for those renting holiday homes.

“First of all, it is heartening to see that 17 per cent of those who are choosing to holiday in Ireland said they were doing so in order to support the local economy,” she said. She also highlighted the fact that 73 per cent of those surveyed said they felt the recession had led to better value holiday pricing in Ireland.

The survey found that of those who stayed at home, the majority favoured self-catering although this sector just pipped hotels as the accommodation type of choice. Some 34 per cent of people said the would holiday in self-catering accommodation this year compared with 33 per cent opting for hotels.