While 2009 was the year of the Staycation, the new travel trend for 2010 is the Awaycation – getting away from it all both in terms of distance travelled and experience-wise.
Tired of the doom and gloom of Britain and the virtual world of their computer screens, a new study by Thomson shows that Britons are flocking to long haul and experiential destinations that provide a sense of discovery, in more ways than one.
Long haul bookings are up 14%, and the top five most popular Awaycations are India, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.
The new study shows that almost half of people are looking to go further afield and have new experiences on holiday this year – with 95% of people saying experience is just as important as value for money. This contradicts what staycaters said about their holiday plans for 2010, back in 2009, when 4 in 5 people were planning to holiday in the UK again.
The top criteria for Brits to truly feel that they have got away from it all and are on an Awaycation, are a different time zone (26%), distance – by getting on a plane (43%), language (43%) and culture and routines (48%), but above all are different sensual experiences in terms of new smells (49%), a hotter climate (53%) and sights (73%). Staying in a hotel was also rated very highly, given that people want to get away from everyday chores such as cooking and cleaning - not surprisingly women rate hotels more important than men (50% vs 39%).
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