A new study by Tyreshopper reveals that one-third (30.2%) of UK travellers would be less likely to holiday in the EU following changes to traveling abroad (such as visa requirements and international driving permits) post-Brexit.
Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, Brits have become less likely to go abroad for holidays, with 1.1 million fewer trips overseas from UK residents in 2018 than in 2017. UK Google Trends data shows that interest in ‘staycations’ has also risen by 116% during this time.
European holidays have been popular with UK holidaymakers for generations but as uncertainty about post-Brexit EU travel requirements grows, research shows that many people might be looking to forego an EU holiday altogether. As the Pound continues to fall in value against the Euro, even hard-earned spending money won’t stretch as far.
75% of all UK resident travel is to the EU, and with £45.4 billion spent in 2018 on overseas trips and 30.2% of Brits choosing to travel less often to the EU post-Brexit, tourism spend in the EU could drop by up to £10 Billion.
Other results from the survey include:
– 8.5% would stop holidaying in the EU altogether
– 10.2% would holiday less frequently in the EU
– 6.5% of UK travellers would holiday more frequently in the UK
– 5.2% would holiday more frequently outside of the EU and the UK
– Only 2.2% would holiday more frequently in the EU
The survey of 2000 UK respondents, conducted by Tyreshopper, also revealed that, despite possible changes to visas or driving permits, 38.1% of respondents would not change their holiday choice.
Before the Brexit referendum was announced, £500 would buy around €680, today, £500 buys around €540. This means that the average spend on holidays in Europe has increased to £633, £32 (5%) more than the average spend in 2016.
The confusion of British citizens is further increased by a lack of clarity over which documents will be needed to travel to Europe, as well as what documents will be required to drive abroad.
Jack Underwood from Tyre Shopper said:
“Many UK holidaymakers hire cars on holiday, but uncertainty around what the requirements for driving on the continent will be after Brexit has meant that more people are deciding to holiday within the UK.
“Our guide to British road trips encourages people to consider the UK as a beautiful and exciting tourist destination, so you can say goodbye to queues at customs and a bad exchange rate – and focus on discovering intriguing new places by car.
“Not only that, but we’ve also included a guide to what we know so far about driving in Europe after Brexit – so if you do decide to continue with your European road trip as planned, you can travel armed with knowledge about the dos and don’ts.”
Staycations offer great value for money and fantastic experiences for the traveller, as well as fantastic environmental and economic benefits for local communities in the UK. Travellers are predicted to trade their European road trips for British road trips in the future.
