“‘Pimp’ your holiday”: Price per booking on the rise

The Kuoni Travel Forecast 2021 shows that not only are people gasping for travel, they’re willing to spend more

Perhaps counter-intuitively, an area where ’rona lockdowns helped many people was household finances. With everyone spending their time working from home there was no need to pay for transport to work, takeaway coffees, or a few swift pints at the end of the day.

Reportedly, a fair bit of this has been ploughed into home and garden improvements, as well as impulse online buys. But, as we commented on last week, travel bookings are spiking with each new announcement of a successful and safe vaccine. 

Now, Kuoni are saying that they’re seeing the average booking spend increase by £682 per person. Those extra savings are being spent.

In a section, called “‘Pimp’ your holiday”, of their Travel Forecast 2021, the global tourism giant said: “Our average selling price per booking has risen from £8,549 to £9,231 per person in 2021.”

This cash is being spent on upgrades such as business class flights, helicopter transfers and extra experiences.

Kuoni have also seen a divide in types of traveller: those with a very narrow booking window and those planning well in advance for 2022.

What this means for the tours, activities and experiences sector is that anyone who has been discounting heavily should stop. It may even be time to move to more expensive, premium pricing and begin to refill those coffers. People are willing to spend more while they travel, and they may as well spend it with you.

It’s also yet another sign that the new normal will be one where people still go to see and experience all the delights the world has to offer.

As Derek Jones, CEO of Kuoni, puts it: “Travel plans have been put on hold this year along with so many other parts of our life but there is a determination out there to make next year’s holiday one to remember.”

Travel’s only on ice and, rather luckily, not for long.

Merry Christmas!