- More than 1 in 7 (15%) holiday-makers will book a holiday this January, with Italy and Spain proving to be popular holiday destinations for upcoming trips
- The average budget for a 2025 holiday is £1,086 per person, or just over £2,000 for a couple travelling. More than 1 in 3 (35%) claim they’ll be spending more next year compared to previous years
- September will be the busiest month for overseas trips, with nearly 1 in 4 (23%) booking a trip for early Autumn
- British holiday-makers typically book their trips 4 months in advance, on average, but more than half (52%) don’t know when their passport is due to expire
- Confused.com’s passport expiry checker helps travellers know if they have enough time left on their documents for their upcoming trips
Booking sites will be flooded with holiday requests this month. New research finds holiday-makers are more likely to book their upcoming trips during January than any other month.
That’s according to new research by Confused.com, which found that more than a third (36%) of those who have been away in the past have booked their holiday at the beginning of the year.
It’s no surprise with Christmas festivities out of the way, people are planning ahead for 2025. In fact, almost a third (29%) claim they book their holidays in January to give themselves something to look forward to. And it will be no different this year, with more than 1 in 7 (15%) planning to book a holiday this month.
According to the research, Italy and Spain top the list for destinations people are looking to visit (12%). France also proved a popular destination, as well as the USA, Greek Islands and Portugal.
And it seems many people will be forking out more in 2025 than before on their holidays. According to the research, holiday-makers will be looking to spend £1,086 per person, or just over £2,000 for a couple travelling, on average. However, some will spend even more, with 1 in 5 (19%) claiming they would spend more than £2,000 per person on their trip. With holiday budgets so high, it’s no surprise that more than a third (35%) have said they will be budgeting more per person for their holidays this year than previous years.
For some, holiday costs could be even higher, as the average holiday-maker will go on at least 2 holidays in 2025. However, 2 in 5 (40%) claim they will aim to go away 3 times or more this year.
It’s clear many will be chasing the sun in 2025, with March through to October unsurprisingly the most popular period for people to get away. However, September will be particularly busy in airports, as this is reported as the month most people have planned trips for (23%). This is followed by June (20%). Meanwhile, people will still be heading away, perhaps in pursuit of winter sun, with 30% of planned trips falling between January and February, and November and December 2025.
However, 1 in 5 (20%) travellers are yet to book their trip for 2025. According to the research people tend to book their holidays 4 months in advance, on average. Although, many do leave it last minute, with almost a third (31%) making plans less than 2 months before their planned departure. However, this leaves many at risk of not being able to travel, due to not having a valid passport.
According to the research, more than half (52%) of holiday-makers don’t know when their passport expires. And previous research found that 1 in 20 (5%) Brits have had to miss, cancel or postpone their plans due to an expired passport1.
Not having enough time left on a passport can lead to a lot of stress and hassle, having to rearrange a trip or book a last minute trip to the passport office - both of which could carry additional costs. To help travellers avoid this, Confused.com has created a passport expiry checker. This allows users to input their passport details, and destination and dates of travel to determine if their passport will be valid for when they’re due to travel. This is an important step when planning a trip to ensure they’re eligible for travel at their desired time, as different countries may have different entry requirements.
Similarly, many people are leaving themselves at risk of extra potential costs. That’s as more than 1 in 7 (15%) don’t plan to take out travel insurance. Travel insurance is an important consideration as it could offer financial support in circumstances such as flight cancellations, missing luggage or any unexpected medical trips. 1 in 4 (25%) travellers usually buy this the same day as they book their holiday - which could offer them protection for any unexpected changes before they travel.
Booking a holiday is an exciting time, gives people something to look forward to, but planning ahead is crucial to ensuring a stress-free trip without any surprises or extra costs.
Alvaro Iturmendi, travel insurance expert at Confused.com comments, “Booking a holiday is the perfect way to beat the January blues. It gives us something to look forward to for the year ahead, and often gives us a few months ahead to save and budget!
“But booking a holiday doesn’t stop with choosing a hotel and picking your flight. Things like ensuring your passport is well within date, and taking out insurance are extra steps to ensuring that everything runs smoothly when you’re ready to go!
“While 6 months is typically the standard validity needed for most countries, this can vary depending on where you’re travelling to. So using our passport expiry checker when booking your trip will make sure you’re prepared for any admin you need to do before you go.”
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