Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, elephant commissioned new market research this month to assess whether the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe had impacted travel plans for British holiday makers for the Easter and Summer periods. Overall, 16% of respondents said ramifications of war in Ukraine was influencing their travel plans, whilst 10% mentioned the prevailing COVID situation abroad — and 8% the COVID situation at home. To some extent these numbers were relatively low.
Nationally, 35% of adults said none of these market factors were impacting their travel plans for the next three to six months — and this rose to 53% for the over 65s. Across the board, older travellers were more likely to say no external factors would seriously impact or sway their plans for an overseas holiday. In contrast, young people were most likely to be impacted by external factors (88%), with general cost of living hikes a top concern.
This week, Gatwick Airport’s South Terminal has reopened after shutting during the coronavirus pandemic nearly two years ago — and this signifies an expected recovery for overseas holidays during the Easter and summer holidays. We have seen from our research over the last six-months that there is pent-up demand among millions of people to finally get away for a decent holiday abroad. Our latest data suggests that whilst the ramifications from the Ukraine war are on people’s minds, for a great many nothing will stop them having the overseas holiday they have been looking forward to for so long.
The latest elephant research also explores how events in Eastern Europe have impacted UK consumer viewpoints on high street spending, money management and energy use. For more information on the lastest research or to book in a free insight session with the elephant team, contact