CANTERBURY, England, February 8 /PRNewswire/ — over the past year thecredit crunch has seen the nation tighten its belt and feel the squeeze. Theprosperous era of ‘splashing out’ has come to an abrupt end and given way tofeelings of thrift and frugality that have led us all to keep a beady eye onthe balance sheet. The finer things in life are therefore being cut out as weall endeavour to weather this storm as painlessly as possible. This has had ahuge impact on the UK travel industry which is expected to contract by 8.9%this year. as Carroll Rheem, Director of PhoCusWright, has stated: ‘Britishtravellers have had to cope with currency devaluation on top of therecession, and both have driven significant changes in travel patterns.’ Thisarticle investigates these emerging trends with relation to travel to Europein 2009/10 and goes some way to providing an outlook for the future.

Fewer people are expected to travel this year but us Brits love a bargainand, rather than giving up our travels entirely, most of us are on thelookout for good value and special deals. in fact, in mature markets such asthe UK and Germany, the percentage growth of Google travel searches for2008/9 matched growth for 2007/8. Andrew Pozniak, Google Head of TravelEurope, Middle East, and Africa, surmised that: ‘Activity rates haveincreased solidly, but conversion rates have been tougher. This showsappetite (for travel) has not been dimmed by the recession.’ Conversely, therecession has highlighted the importance that Brits place on travel overother activities. The Travel Nation report carried out by Eurostar in April2009 concluded that Brits prioritise holidays as the most important of allluxuries, above eating out, buying new clothes and entertainment. Accordingto their survey, over a third of adults (36%) would happily not eat out inrestaurants for an entire year and nearly one third (29%) would rather notbuy any new clothes for an entire year than miss out on their holiday.

so although we are unwilling to forgo our precious annual holiday(s), weare nonetheless looking to travel in cheaper, more cost effective ways.through the internet we are able compare and contrast vast quantities ofinformation to find the best deals at websites such as travelsupermarket.com(flights, hotels, car hire, insurance, holiday packages,) and The CurrencyExchange Site (http://www.currencyexchange-uk.co.uk/) (foreign exchange). Forthis reason the online travel market has grown steadily over the past fiveyears and is now worth 60 billion Euros. in contrast, the offline travelmarket has seen a steady decrease in sales with a CAGR of -0.6% for 2002-2008(European Online Travel Report 3 by Eye). Package holidays have also beenpopular during the economic crisis as people are looking for security andprefer to know exactly how much their holiday is going to cost from theoutset. Another trend that has emerged is the rise of the ‘soliday’ – manypeople are resorting to travelling alone as friends and family struggle tofund holidays. According to ebookers.com, nearly 15% of holidaymakers took’solidays’ in the past year due to friends and family being unable to fundtravel plans as a result of the recession. The most popular locations forsolo travelling include Europe (34%), India (14%) and Africa (11%). BenReynolds, Head of Marketing at ebookers.com said: ‘The recession is changingthe way we travel, with people looking at new ways to ensure they can stilljet off on a break this year. The soliday seems to be emerging as a trend forpeople who can still afford a break.’

Surprisingly, findings by the Travel Nation report carried out byEurostar suggest that people will be continuing to travel to the sameEuropean destinations in roughly the same numbers as last year, suggestingthat the fall in exchange rate of the pound against the Euro has not had thedramatic impact on travel to the Eurozone that has been widely predicted.According to their survey, exchange rate influenced choice of destination forless than one in five of us and is therefore not a significant factor. Twotheories that go some way to explaining why we have remained loyal to theEurozone, despite the exchange rate, are that it is close to home and sotravel costs remain low, which is without doubt a huge factor in consideringa holiday destination, and that people are ‘more inclined to go somewheretried and tested,’ i.e. Europe, during these uncertain times.

The vast majority of us would also like to manage risk for our holiday bydoing our homework and ‘looking for advice’ on how to get the best value fromour destinations. The recession means that our attitude to consumption hasbecome more constrained. This brings with it a more considered approach totravel spend, meaning people will increasingly seek ways to minimise risk andmaximise on overall value. in response, European travel retailers are on theverge of rolling out customised concierge services to the mainstream.Concierge services range from destination based experts who contact customersbefore departure and help them create a tailor-made experience to traditionaltravel agents offering a before, during and after service. This is a meansfor travel companies to drive up margins and increase loyalty and customersatisfaction at a time when consumers need help trawling through the plethoraof information on the internet and are demanding more experience led travel.as Caroline Bremner, Research Manager to Euromonitor International GlobalTravel and Tourism, put it: ‘Concierge services traditionally cater to thewealthy and luxury travellers. However, companies are ripping up the rulebook and realising that these services are just as helpful and appreciated bythe mass market. This area offers the opportunity to reach out and providevalue added services like never before.’

With the democratisation of luxury therefore on the cards, travel andtourism in Europe has a bright future despite current global financialuncertainties.

About Exchange-Currency.com Ltd

Exchange-Currency.com Ltd’s website, The Currency Exchange Site, is atravel money and currency exchange comparison website. The site containscomparisons of travel money, currency card and travellers cheques providersas well as reviews, recommendations and tips for saving money while abroad.for more information please visit http://www.currencyexchange-uk.co.uk.

Contacts public: Claire Jakeways, admin@exchange-currency.com

SOURCE The Currency Exchange Site – http://www.currencyexchange-uk.co.uk

The Impact of the Recession on Travel to Europe 2009/10