Travel Trends for 2009

- Short haul city breaks are being severely cut back - no more 2-3 weekends a year to swanky boutique hotels in Prague, Venice etc.

- Package travel looks like having a mini-renaissance - especially all-inclusive offers. People want the security of knowing exactly what they will spend on holiday, and don't want the uncertainty of a mounting extras bill, not to mention meals and eating out. So cruises will do well too, and other all-inclusives.

- high street travel agents - the purveyors of the all-inclusive brochure deal - will benefit, as well as special deals sites like our own Affordable Travel

- domestic tourism will do well - a no brainer despite the last two years awful summer weather in Europe. a) we can't have a third, surely? b) domestic = no flight hassle and cheaper transport costs

- domestic B+B will boom, as will retro/niche caravan/camping options

- long haul adventure travel will prove resilient, for two reasons

- Gap year and younger age-group travel has an added incentive to take off - no jobs, lets leave the country until the recession is over. So we'll see a rise in round the world flight packages as well.

- Also, there is anecdotal evidence that many middle class and middle/upper income employees facing redundancy will take off for a few months in the same way - though those with kids won't be able to. Some factory workers too, contemplating nine months free time on 30% pay, are thinking of relocating to India, Thailand and elsewhere for the 9 months, where their 30% pay will actually cover a decent living in a beach side hut in a tropical paradise.

Conclusions

Less breaks overall, but what remains will be skewed towards all-inclusive packages, with some growth in experiential adventure travel at the expense of city breaks, and strong domestic tourism.

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