Top 10 Destinations in UK Summer 2017 — Source: trivago
Share of international traffic from top ten incoming markets, to UK destinations in summer 2017 — Photo by trivago.co.uk
Traveller behaviour per market, for UK travellers and travellers from the top ten visiting markets to UK destinations. — Photo by trivago.co.uk

Summer is just around the corner, and what better way to prepare for the busy season than to check out summer travel trends for the United Kingdom. We've analysed search behaviour data for travellers on trivago to reveal where they're coming from, what cities they're going to, how long they'll stay and how much they'll pay this summer.

The following information relates to searches for stays of three nights or more, between 1 June and 31 August 2017.

Where will visitors to the UK be from this summer?

Based on search volume, UK residents travelling domestically will account for the largest number of travellers from a single country this summer. But UK hoteliers can also expect visitors from the rest of Europe and further afield.

70.6% of international searches for UK destinations come from just 10 countries. Those 10 countries are Germany, the US, Italy, Spain, Australia, France, Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden.

UK hoteliers hoping to appeal to these travellers can start by translating their websites into multiple languages. If you have multilingual staff, make sure you let your international guests know this when they check in. The option of reverting to their native tongue can be a welcome, special touch to make your guests feel right at home on their holiday.

What will be the most popular destinations for summer travel?

The destinations of choice differ between international visitors and domestic travellers.

London is the most sought-after destination across the international board, accounting for 73.6% of all UK searches from the top 10 visiting countries (but only 22.3% of domestic searches). Edinburgh follows in second place, and Glasgow takes third place for international visitors (but only fourth for domestic visitors, bumped from third by Blackpool).

While big-city destinations dominate the top 10 for international searches combined, traveller preferences differ at the country level. German visitors are also seeking holidays by the sea, with five of the top 10 destinations in coastal locations, specifically Brighton, Inverness, Newquay, Bournemouth and St Ives.

England's historic charm is popular with international visitors this summer, with Oxford and Bath both appearing in the top 10 for travellers from Australia, Canada, Sweden and the US. York also ranks in the top 10 for Australia, the US and Canada, while travellers from Italy and Spain prefer Bristol. Irish visitors might be hoping to catch a glimpse of the Queen, with Windsor creeping into their top 10 at number nine!

What does the data reveal about traveller behaviour?

The dates travellers prefer to travel, how long they'll stay and how much they'll spend on average are all valuable pieces of information for the hotelier in defining a marketing strategy and setting competitive prices.

Search behaviours of UK travellers and those travelling from the top visiting countries, in searching for destinations worldwide, are shown below.

The most popular weeks to travel are spread out evenly across the season. Domestic travellers, along with visitors from Germany and Ireland, are the first to jump on the summer holiday bus, with the first week of summer being the most popular time for them to travel.

The busiest weeks will be those beginning 26 June and 31 July, closely followed by the week beginning 7 August. These are the weeks with the highest volume of searches from all markets combined.

For some UK destinations, the average clicked per-night prices exceed the global average. Average clicked prices for London are from £7 to £30 higher for all visiting markets, with Swedish and Spanish visitors clicking on the highest prices. Cardiff prices show the greatest margins on the global average, with visitors from Italy and Spain clicking more than double the global average.

If you want to target travellers who're looking for the longest getaways, turn your attention to the Irish, the Italians and the French, who all search for eight-night stays on average. UK residents and travellers from Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are next, searching for seven nights on average.

Summer is one of the busiest travel periods in the year worldwide, and it's not too late for UK hoteliers to take advantage of this season's influx of guests. Your hotel's online presence should scream "summer" across all your marketing channels; what better place to start than by updating your images and description to summer-specific content with trivago Hotel Manager?

About the data:

Travel period: 1 June – 31 August 2017
Search period: 1 January – 5 April 2017
Includes searches for stays of 3+ days
Searches include those where the traveller made at least one click-out to a hotel
Searches include those to specific cities as destinations. Searches to region or country are excluded.

View this article on the trivago Hotel Manager blog.

Andrea Ricciarelli
Global B2B Content Marketing & Global PR Lead
trivago

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