The top factors for Brits choosing a designation for their long-awaited post-COVID vacation are weather (45%), location on the green list (44%), cheap flights (42%) and a good exchange rate (33%), a new study from UK Direct Debit Travel Card Currensea has revealed. Interestingly, the lowest ranking factors at 8% respectively were travelling as far away from the UK as possible and visiting family and friends.
Despite the risk of new COVID variants popping up across the world, UK travellers desperate for a holiday ranked low rates of COVID-19 (23%) as the ninth most important factor when picking a 2021 holiday destination. It was beaten by the above as well as by local culture (27%), a short flight (25%), a cheap country (25%) and a destination’s proximity to natural beauty (24%).
Arguably this showcases travellers’ confidence in the UK’s current COVID-19 response, with over 72% of the adult population now having had both doses of the vaccine and both infection and death rates dropping significantly.
Brits want to avoid quarantine at all costs
While avoiding the virus itself is no longer a priority for vaccinated Brits, staying out of quarantine most certainly is with 44% of respondents citing that a spot on the green list was a top priority when choosing destinations. There were some interesting demographic divides on this factor however, with a whopping 58% of boomers (55+) seeing it as a top priority versus just 44% of the younger generations for whom money-saving factors like cheap flights were more important. Women (49%) also care significantly more about a destination’s placement on the green list versus men (36%). Additionally, the cautious Welsh (52%) and those in the North East (51%) treat the government’s traffic light system with significantly higher regard than blasé Londoners (36%).
Saving cash top priority for travellers in 2021
Another key finding from the research is that while Brits are desperate to travel abroad, they want to do so as cost effectively as possible. Cheap flights and a good exchange rate ranked as the third and fourth most important factors respectively for travellers picking a holiday destination. Additional findings show that this is impacting how Brits are spending abroad, with 95% ditching the bureau de change for credit and debit card options.
James Lynn, co-founder of Currensea, said: “As a travel industry business, we are delighted that growing confidence in the UK government’s COVID-19 response means that the public are feeling more comfortable to travel abroad. The findings of our research are fascinating, but the biggest takeaway for me is that UK travellers, while desperate to travel, are also very conscious about spending their money wisely. The fact that GBP has only strengthened over the last two years also means that Brits can get even more for their money while abroad – so this is a great time to go on holiday.”
Currensea is the first-of-its-kind direct debit travel card that allows consumers to spend directly from their high-street bank account without the charges, saving British travellers money against all the major high-street banks, travel cards and prepaid cards.
In fact, it saves consumers at least 85% by cutting out the normal high-street bank fees and charges for every transaction when spending abroad.
The firm has recently partnered with Singapore Airlines so that customers can use their Currensea savings to collect KrisFlyer miles whenever they spend abroad. It’s the first non-credit card in the UK to offer such a benefit.
