6 March, 2013 - TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site, announced the results of the world’s largest accommodation and traveller survey¹ – the TripBarometer by TripAdvisor. This study, conducted on behalf of TripAdvisor by independent research firm StrategyOne, a division of Edelman Berland, will be biannual and reports on top travel and hospitality industry trends, according to more than 35,000 travellers and hoteliers around the world.

The results of the TripBarometer highlight country level, regional and global trends within the travel sector and reveal insights into economic outlook, travel planning, booking methods and traveller expectations.

Three-quarters of UK accommodations profitable in Jubilympic Year

• Forty four percent of travellers from European countries – and 41% of British travellers - plan to increase their travel budget this year, with only 26% of Brits planning to decrease their travel spend.

• When it comes to economic confidence, British travellers are feeling more secure than others – only 23% claim the current economic climate will impact their travel decision making – compared to 31% of global travellers and 30% of Europeans.

• Following a much-anticipated Jubilympic year, 76% of UK accommodations described their business as profitable in 2012 - higher than the European average of 66%.

• 40% of UK accommodations plan to increase their rates in the next six months, while 55% plan to keep them the same.

• Over half (58%) of UK accommodations are optimistic about business profitability – while this is broadly in line with other European accommodations (54%) it’s lower than the global average of 68%, and considerably lower than accommodations in North America (83%)

• Only 7% of British travellers used a high street travel agent to book their last trip.

European Accommodations Least Optimistic About Profitability in 2013

Accommodation owners from European countries polled in the TripBarometer are less optimistic than those from any other region in the world.

Room Rates

European accommodations are the least likely to increase their room rates in 2013, with 32% of accommodation providers planning to increase rates this year. Forty percent of UK hoteliers plan to increase their rates in the next six months, while 55% plan to keep them the same.

Global Travellers’ Plans to Increase Travel Spend Present Opportunity For Hotels

The report shows that 44% of travellers from European countries – and 41% of British travellers - plan to increase their travel budget this year, with only 26% of Brits planning to decrease their spend.

Online Channels Acting As Megaphone For Traditional ‘Word of Mouth’ while High St Agent misses out

The top three sources of information reported as being most useful by global and European travellers are all online sources.

With travellers going online for their travel research and planning, they are also showing preference for online as the primary booking channel. Globally, the majority of travellers are booking accommodation via web-based travel agencies (27%), closely followed by accommodations’ own websites (23%). When it comes to British travellers, only 7% used a high street travel agent to book their last trip.

 “The TripBarometer has revealed useful insights into what global travellers are planning and shone a light on the areas where accommodation providers can do more to meet guests’ expectations,” said Christine Petersen, President, TripAdvisor for Business. 

“With travellers choosing digital channels for their travel planning and research, traditional word of mouth has been amplified and online booking has become the norm across the globe. Furthermore, as travel budgets increase and European accommodations plan to keep room rates steady, it seems likely that Europe will prove to be great value for money for international travellers this year.” 

For the full TripBarometer report, infographic and global findings, please visit: http://www.tripadvisortripbarometer.com/UK

-ENDS-

¹ Methodology: The TripBarometer by TripAdvisor is based upon an online survey conducted in Dec. 2012 – Jan. 2013. A total of 35,042 people participated in the online survey from 26 countries spanning 7 regions. The sample is made up of 15,595 consumers and 19,447 businesses, making it the world’s largest combined accommodation and traveler survey. More than 2,000 U.S. travelers and more than 3,000 U.S. hoteliers participated in the survey.