Package holidays in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts

The concept of package tourism has its root in the United Kingdom when, in 1841, English businessman Thomas Cook brought nearly 500 people on a trip from Leicester to Loughborough. The journey, costing one shilling per person, included train tickets, tea, and sandwiches. Around 180 years after that first all-inclusive excursion, the idea of a package holiday remains roughly the same. Today, the term mainly refers to vacations booked via a travel agency or tour operator that comprises transport, accommodation, and other services such as transfers and meals. In 2022, approximately 12 percent of Brits surveyed said they had booked a package holiday over the last year. When breaking down the expenses on this tourism product, Britons aged between 65 and 74 recorded the highest average expenditure on package holidays in the UK. However, weekly household spending on package travel declined sharply in 2021 over the previous financial year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The drop in spending came as the number of people who booked package holidays in the UK shrunk in the first year of the health crisis. While UK package holiday users bounced back in 2021, totaling over eight million, this figure remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Where do consumers book package holidays?

Travel agents originally operated out of brick-and-mortar establishments, but in recent years have increasingly moved online. As of 2021, online travel agencies such as Expedia made up a significant portion of the UK package holiday market share. That being said, big brand travel agencies such as TUI – a multinational travel group headquartered in Germany – and airline businesses still dominated this tourism segment. When looking at the package holiday bookings by brand in the UK, TUI and the tour operator arms of easyJet and Jet2 (easyJet Holidays and Jet2Holidays, respectively) were among the biggest players in the UK package tourism market in 2022. That year, TUI and Jet2Holidays were also among the leading websites for UK holiday searches.

Outlook for the UK package holiday market

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel and tourism in 2020, the package holiday market in the UK contracted by nearly 60 percent over the previous year. While in 2021 it was one of the tourism segments reporting the highest revenue growth in the United Kingdom, the market is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels only by 2023. That year, the revenue of package holidays in the UK is forecast to reach nearly 11 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, according to Statista’s Mobility Market Outlook, package holiday sales in the UK are predicted to take place increasingly online, as online sales channels accounted for the highest share of the market both prior to and throughout the pandemic.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Oct 12, 2022

Key insights

Package holiday market revenue in the UK
6.6bn USD
Package holiday market revenue growth in the UK
51.6%
Weekly UK household expenditure on package holidays
5.8 GBP
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Revenue of the Travel & Tourism market in the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2027, by segment (in billion U.S. dollars)

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Market share of leading companies in the package holiday market in the United Kingdom in 2021

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Brand preference among users of package holiday offers in the UK 2021

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