How Many Britons Have Already Booked Their 2018 Holiday?

Have You Booked Your 2018 Holiday Yet? Two Fifths of Britons Have!

There are many benefits of booking your holiday well in advance: you can get great deals, you'll have longer to look forward to the trip for, be able to spread the cost over a longer period of time AND it saves you scrabbling around at the last minute trying to find a holiday you'll enjoy.

With the year drawing to a close, we wanted to find out how many people had booked their 2018 holidays abroad, so we polled 2,817 people from all different regions of the UK to find out.

The Average Briton Books Overseas Holidays Six Months in Advance

The majority, 65%, of the people taking part in our study told us that they usually booked their holidays abroad 'at least six months in advance' and two fifths (41%) of the total respondents said that they already had an overseas holiday booked for 2018. What an organised bunch!

In order to find out which region of the UK was home to the most organised holidaymakers, we asked all respondents how far in advance their last holiday abroad was booked (flights and/or hotel), with people in Yorkshire & Humberside making their plans concrete the earliest. In order, from earliest to latest, residents of each region were revealed to book their holidays abroad this far in advance:

1. Yorkshire & Humberside -11 months
2. North West - 10.5 months
3. Wales - 9 months
4. West Midlands - 9 months
5. South West - 8 months
6. London - 6 months
7. North East - 6.5 months
8. Northern Ireland -5 months
9. Scotland - 4 months
10. East Midlands - 4 months
11. South East - 3 months
12. East of England - 2 months

Anyone who booked their holiday abroad six or more months in advance was asked what they felt the benefits of doing so were (stating all reasons that applied), to which 45% told us that they felt they got a 'cheaper price' and 38% said to give them 'something to look forward to for longer'. Those who booked 2 months or less in advance also listed getting 'cheaper price' as a benefit of the timing of their booking (26%), with 22% also claiming it was 'more spontaneous and exciting'.

Our poll also revealed a correlation between the cost of the holiday and how far in advance the trip was booked, with the length of time typically increasing in line with the cost of the break.

Canary Islands, Balearics and Mexico On Track To Be Most Popular 2018 Destinations

Finally, the most popular destinations for 2018 holidays overseas, based on the respondents who had already booked their trip, were Canary Islands (21%), Balearic Islands (18%) and Mexico (12%).

People in Yorkshire & Humberside are clearly the most organised and eager of them all, whereas those in the East of England perhaps prefer the spontaneity of a last minute trip! What are your holiday plans for next year and how does your booking time compare to others in your region? Share with us in the comments section below!