Brits still plan to spend on 2012 travel despite economic woes

A quarter of Brits will increase their holiday spend in 2012*

TripAdvisor today reveals the results of its 2012 Travel Trends Survey.  While the troubled economy is the most significant concern for Britons planning their 2012 holidays, travel budgets look set to remain healthy and tourism generally will be buoyant with two thirds (66%) of Brits planning to take between two and four leisure trips in 2012.

Healthy budgets despite worry

Although worried about the economy, Brits are refusing to sacrifice their 2012 holidays and are spending accordingly, even if that means booking on credit.

-A quarter (25%) of Brits plan to spend more in 2012 on travel than they did in 2011. Only 16% plan to spend less, while 59% intend to spend about the same

-Brits will do what it takes to have their holidays – one-third (32%) of respondents admit they won’t pay for their 2012 holiday up front, with one-fifth (21%) taking over two months to pay their holiday bill

-The most common 2012 holiday budget for Brits is between £2K and £4K, which is the expected spend for 29% of Brits in the coming year

-An extravagant 17% of Brits are clearly unconcerned about the economic situation as they plan to spend £8K or more on leisure travel in 2012

Economic anxiety overtakes volcanic concerns

Ash cloud is out, economy is in: concern over the state of the economy is the biggest worry for Brits in their 2012 travel planning, replacing last year’s top concern of volcanic ash.

-One-third (33%) said the economy is their biggest concern in travel planning, while despite trouble in Europe, only 27% of Europeans feel the same way

-The following factors, in order, are most likely to affect travel planning for Brits in 2012:

1.    The current economic climate

2.    Terrorism

3.    Potential strikes/industrial action

4.    Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax

5.    Travel firms collapsing 

-Over one-third of Brits (36%) are now more likely to buy holiday insurance as a result of uncertainty in the industry last year

Olympics Has Little Impact on Travel Plans

With beautiful beaches, historic cities and stunning countryside on their doorstep, Brits are this year planning to take advantage of what’s within their borders:

-40% of Brits intend to take a ‘Staycation’ in 2012, taking time off but holidaying at home.  This is roughly the same as last year (38%)

-Over three-quarters (76%) of Brits are planning at least one domestic holiday for 2012 with nearly half (47%) planning to take two or more

-The Olympics have, so far, failed to have a major impact on British travel plans:

o    Two-thirds (67%) of respondents said it will not factor into their travel 2012 plans

o    However 12% will purposefully not travel during the Olympics so they can stay at home and watch

o    A hopeful 10% intend to take advantage of possible bargain travel deals outside of the UK during the Olympics

Foreign Travel Forecast

Short-haul travel is expected to outpace long-haul travel by a larger margin in 2012 than it did in 2011 as Brits admit they’ll look to economically hard-hit Eurozone countries – Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, for example – for good deals:

-88% of Brits are planning at least one short-haul trip in 2012

-60% of Brits are planning at least one long-haul trip in 2012, down from 66% in 2011. 

-Of those planning a long-haul trip, North America is the most popular destination, followed by Asia then Africa

-34% of Brits admit they’ll plan to take advantage of hard-hid Eurozone countries for good deals

“This year’s results demonstrate that while financial concerns are clearly front of mind, resilient Brits are not prepared to sacrifice their 2012 holidays,” commented Emma Shaw, TripAdvisor spokesperson. “Brits are considering their holiday budgets carefully but crucially we still intend to spend on leisure travel, with the vast majority planning on spending at least the same as last year.”

*Survey carried out on 6.092 travellers, including 1,440 respondents from the UK.  Survey conducted in October 2011

TripAdvisor app awarded ‘Most Effective Mobile Travel & Tourism Solution’ at Effective Mobile Marketing Awards

TripAdvisor’s app has been crowned Most Effective Mobile Travel & Tourism Solution at the Effective Mobile Marketing Awards. 

Nathan Clapton, TripAdvisor Vice President of Mobile Partnerships said, “We’re thrilled with this accolade.  It’s well-deserved recognition for our mobile product and engineering teams who’ve worked tirelessly to create the best mobile travel app on the market.

“With more and more travellers now making travel decisions on-the-go, it’s a great honour for our app to be named Most Effective Mobile Travel & Tourism Solution.  We are the world’s largest travel website and our app provides mobile users with access to over 50 million reviews and opinions.”

TripAdvisor apps now have over 10 million downloads and are available in over 123 countries and in 20 languages.  The iPad app has reached number one in Apple’s free travel apps in 85 countries.

As well as allowing travellers to search for hotels, restaurants, attractions, and the cheapest airfares, the TripAdvisor mobile app also features the ability to see what’s “near me now” and use TripAdvisor ratings to pick the best of what’s nearby.  The app also means travellers can send in reviews while they’re on the road while their experiences are still fresh.

The Effective Mobile Marketing Awards attracted 154 entries across 17 categories from well-known brands all over the world and TripAdvisor was selected as the winner of its category by a panel of expert judges.

The TripAdvisor app was named ‘Best Travel App’ at the Appy Awards in April 2011 and ‘Best Travel & Tourism Smart Phone App’ at the British Travel Awards this week, where TripAdvisor was also named ‘Best Travel Information/Review Site’. 

Raise your glass to Britain's best nightlife destinations

According to TripAdvisor travellers, Liverpool is the UK’s best party spot.  It outclassed runner-up and North West arch rival, Manchester, in the party stakes to be crowned Britain’s best nightlife destination. London took third place, followed by Glasgow and Brighton in fourth and fifth places respectively.

“Liverpudlians should be thrilled their city has been crowned Britain’s best nightlife destination. The city boasts thriving live music and comedy scenes, along with great clubs, bars and restaurants,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, Emma Shaw.

Lively Liverpool reigns as Britain’s party capital

Already world-famous for its musical heritage thanks to its claim as home of the Beatles, Liverpool has much to offer visitors, whether Fab Four fans or not.

Alma de Cuba, a Latin-themed bar in a converted church should not be missed, while Newz Bar lends itself well to celebrity spotting.  Beatles fans can’t miss Ye Cracke, an old pub thought to be a favourite of John Lennon’s in his student days. The Royal Court Theatre is great for live comedy, while The Shipping Forecast, Cavern Club and Magnet are renowned for live music. 

Visitors coming to sample Liverpool’s nightlife shouldn’t ignore the city’s impressive daytime offerings either. Named the European Capital of Culture in 2008, Liverpool clearly offers something for every traveller - The Beatles Story Experience and Paul’s childhood home, as well as Albert Dock’s stories, Liverpool Cathedral and Walker Art Gallery have all proven popular with visitors. 

The North-South Divide

Laying claim to four of Britain’s best nightlife destinations (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Blackpool), the north of England is clearly where the party’s at.  The south has only two destinations in the list (London and Brighton), while Scotland also has two (Glasgow and Edinburgh) and Wales (Cardiff) and Northern Ireland (Belfast) each have one. 

Lavish London misses top spots

Despite being world-renowned for its extensive club scene, endless pubs and great bars, and with celebrity haunts such as Mahiki regularly making tabloid headlines, London was beat out by the lively north in the nightlife stakes.  To be named Britain’s third-best nightlife destination is an impressive finish, but lovers of London may have expected it to place higher.

Britain’s best nightlife destinations:

1.    Liverpool

2.    Manchester

3.    London

4.    Glasgow

5.    Brighton

6.    Leeds

7.    Cardiff

8.    Belfast

9.    Blackpool

10. Edinburgh

TripAdvisor’s Best Nightlife Destinations is based on the average ratings TripAdvisor users gave each UK destination in the nightlife category when submitting a review during 2011. Rankings were taken based on reviews submitted between 1 January and 16 September 2011

What did we think of Channel 4’s 'Attack of the Trip Advisors'?

We’ve had a few questions about Monday night’s programme, here’s our thoughts:

The Channel 4 programme is clearly a portrayal of extremes intended for entertainment purposes. Nonetheless, we do appreciate the impacts that reviews can have on properties and for this reason we have numerous mechanisms in place to allow hotels and other businesses to address reviews they feel are false or unfair. 

For instance, we offer a management response tool that allows hoteliers to respond to specific traveller reviews.  This gives business owners the last word.  We strongly encourage business owners to take advantage of this feature; according to a recent Forrester survey commissioned by TripAdvisor, 71% of travellers think seeing a management response to reviews is important.

TripAdvisor’s Management Centre is another facility which provides information about how businesses can better use the site, as well as FAQs regarding review guidelines.

It is important to note that according to a recent PhoCusWright research commissioned by TripAdvisor, 98% of respondents have found TripAdvisor hotel reviews to be accurate of the actual experience and note that the average overall ratings for the featured properties are so good, ranging between 4 and 4.5 out of 5.

TripAdvisor was founded on a core set of principles - to give travellers a voice to share their experiences, promote consumer choice and encourage a level playing field for everyone in the industry – all within a free, open and honest forum. This remains our mission.

TripAdvisor launches free Mobile City Guides for Android

 

TripAdvisor has launched a series of free Mobile City Guides for Android. The new apps, available for 20 popular world cities, provide detailed destination information including traveller reviews on hotels, restaurants and attractions, as well as suggested itineraries and offline-accessible interactive walking tours.

The Mobile City Guide apps are automatically synced with the freshest TripAdvisor content available so users can access the latest traveller reviews and opinions on the go.  They also offer walking tours and insider tips that can be viewed on the app without a data connection, including in-depth information on neighbourhoods, history, culture, architecture, weather and transportation. Access to offline information is particularly useful for travellers abroad, who can download the apps before they go, sparing them from expensive roaming charges.

The Mobile City Guides’ interactive walking tours and suggested itineraries offer detailed city insights from TripAdvisor travellers as well as professional writers, publishers and destination marketing organisations.  For example, in Florence, a traveller can follow the best way to see artisan workshops of the historic Oltrarno Quarter, according to a local TripAdvisor Destination Expert, complete with a map, photos, tips and suggestions.

TripAdvisor Mobile City Guide apps are currently available for the following destinations: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Florence, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, and Washington D.C.

“We think travellers are going to love the comprehensive information our free Mobile City Guides provide in popular world cities,” said Adam Medros, vice president of global product at TripAdvisor. “A tremendous complement to our popular TripAdvisor site app, these guides offer even more city detail, including itineraries and interactive walking tours.”

More information about the TripAdvisor mobile offerings can be found at www.tripadvisor.co.uk/mobile.

York beats London to be crowned the UK's best food destination

York and Edinburgh European Winners in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Food and Wine Destinations

TripAdvisor today names the winners of its Travellers’ Choice Food and Wine Destinations awards, as decided by travellers themselves.  In a nod to the UK’s culinary prowess, two British destinations made the European top 10 – York and Edinburgh – placing fifth and tenth respectively, while London was conspicuous in its absence.

Italy dominates withfive of the top 10 spots, including Florence in first place.  Spain boasts two cities in the list, while the time-honoured food and wine capital of the world, France, only has one entry with Paris.  

“These awards recognise Europe’s best food and wine destinations according to millions of TripAdvisor travellers.  With tough competition from destinations renowned for their culinary expertise, the UK should be proud to claim two top 10 spots, with York now well and truly establishing its place on Europe’s gastro tourism map,” commented Emma Shaw, TripAdvisor spokesperson. 

York Flies Foodie Flag for UK

Taking fifth place in Europe, York claims Britain’s top spot in the gastronomy stakes.  Its annual York Food and Drink Festival, celebrating local food and good wine, this year brought in approximately half a million visitors, cementing York as a true foodie destination. 

Gillian Cruddas MBE, Chief Executive of Visit York said, “We are delighted by this news.  York really is a foodie haven with so many quality local producers, award winning restaurants and speciality markets.  We have just enjoyed the city’s most successful festival of food and drink ever, where we had everything on the menu from Yorkshire reared venison with chocolate sauce to mouth-watering Wensleydale cheeses.”

“We are delighted with this accolade which is a tribute to York and Yorkshire’s great food producers and chefs.”

Enticing Edinburgh

Proving that Scotland clearly has more to offer than haggis and deep-fried Mars bars, Edinburgh is officially named one of Europe’s ten best cities for food and wine.  Scotland’s capital is a foodie haven, offering cuisines from all over the world and good restaurants to suit any budget.

TripAdvisor’s 2011 Travellers’ Choice Food and Wine Destinations – European Top Ten:

1.    Florence, Italy

2.    Paris, France

3.    Rome, Italy

4.    Sorrento, Italy

5.    York, UK

6.    Siena, Italy

7.    Bologna, Italy

8.    San Sebastian, Spain

9.    Barcelona, Spain

10. Edinburgh, UK

“Britain can now lay claim to two of Europe’s best food and wine destinations. For years other nationalities have derided Britain’s gastronomic credentials so let’s hope this marks the demise of the outdated bad food reputation. With world-famous chefs, cuisines from all over the planet and restaurants to suit every budget, Britain has earned its stripes as a foodie haven.”

TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice winners are based on the millions of reviews and opinions from travellers around the world.  Winners were determined based on the most highly rated food and wine destinations by travellers in TripAdvisor reviews.