Families are once again dreaming of holidays in such popular destinations as the Costa Blanca – and hoping to do so in grand style. According to a poll by Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, “Brits are planning to make up for lost time with their loved ones by taking extended family with them on their next holiday.”
Carried out by One Poll on behalf of the travel company (a key operator at Corvera Airport Murcia), the poll of 2,000 British adults found that “hardly seeing their nearest and dearest during the past 12 months has left 68 per cent champing at the bit to do something special with them”.
For 41 per cent of those surveyed, the best way to do this would be with “a bumper family holiday… hoping to take as many as five loved ones away with them in addition to their immediate family, with grandparents, aunties and uncles the most likely companions”. A similar number (40 per cent) said they also believed their families “have never needed a holiday more than they do now”.
According to a spokesman for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, “Spending quality time with family is incredibly special and something many people haven’t been able to do this past year. Quality time with loved ones – somewhere away from the same four walls – is what people are looking forward to more than anything.
“There certainly won’t be a shortage of things to catch-up on and, while this past year has been incredibly challenging, families are clearly looking forward to enjoying an extra special break together and creating some fantastic memories.”
Enhanced Confidence
Meanwhile, customer polling conducted weekly by Jet2.com and Jet2holidays found there was “an increase in confidence across all age groups when it comes to booking and travelling on holidays this summer and beyond”.
More than half of the respondents (52 per cent) said they felt confident when it came to travelling, compared to just over one-quarter (28 per cent) who did not. “This is not only the highest percentage of adults saying that they feel confident this year, but also marks the lowest percentage of people saying they do not feel confident.”
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays attributed the favourable figures to several developments in recent weeks, ”including the UK government’s ambition to re-open travel, the successful vaccine rollout in the UK, and positive announcements by a number of tourism ministers in overseas destinations (including Spain and the Murcia region) saying that they will welcome UK holidaymakers this summer”.
Commenting on the data, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays CEO Steve Heapy said, “Understandably, customer confidence has risen and fallen significantly over the past year. However, we are hugely encouraged by the rising levels of confidence of the past few weeks. This consistent and continued sense of positivity is translating into the demand that we are seeing, which tells us that our customers aren’t just dreaming of getting away to the sunshine this summer: they are getting their much-needed holidays booked in.”
Also expected to boost travel confidence this year is the proposed pre-summer launch by the European Union of a Digital Green Certificate, with the aim of helping EU citizens and their family members travel safely and with minimum restrictions.