Have you travelled because a friend recommended a place?
Over three quarters of holidaymakers experience the ‘copycat’ effect, as they visit holiday resorts abroad that their friends have previously been to and told them about, according new research by www.sunshine.co.uk
The online independent travel agency revealed that 78 per cent of UK adults base destination decisions on where their friends have holidayed in the past, as opposed to things such as reviews, proximity to home and the nightlife on offer within a resort.
www.sunshine.co.uk carried out a poll as part of on-going research into the holiday habits and preferences of people around the UK, and polled 2,178 adults from Britain, each of whom had been on a holiday abroad in the last five years.
Chris Clarkson, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, said: “If your mate has just got back from a luxurious Caribbean resort and you’ve been visiting the same rainy resort in Cornwall for as long as you can remember, it’s bound to strike a competitive chord somewhere within you and make you want to visit somewhere just as good, if not the same, resort as them.”
When respondents were asked what had made them go on holiday to the same destination as their friends had visited, aside from the fact their friend had been there, 54 per cent said it was due to the fact their friend had given a good review of the resort or accommodation.
Just over a third said it was more a case of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ and nine per cent said they had actually gone back to a place their friends had visited with the friends in questions.
Of those who had claimed that they’d been somewhere on holiday just because their friends had been previously, 21 per cent said they were ‘disappointed’ with the recommendation.
Furthermore, 45 per cent of the total respondents admitted to making their own holidays sound better than they actually were when talking about them to friends and family.
When asked why they did this, 27 per cent said they were aiming to make those listening ‘jealous’, whilst just over a fifth admitted it was to make them sound like they had more money than they actually did.
Chris added: “Keeping up with the Joneses is clearly a real phenomenon within the holiday realm, but I don’t think it matters if you’re going to the same places as your friends. What matters is whether you like the place you’re visiting and if you’re having a good holiday!”
For more information, visit www.sunshine.co.uk
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