Online Travel Predictions 2009

Weak pound / Strong Euro will change favoured destinations but Brits still keen to go abroad.
Predictions from Lastminute.com press release :

As well as a shift to non-euro destinations because of the worsening exchange rate of the pound with the euro, Lastminute.com expects holiday durations to get shorter and anticipates a shift to more competitively priced hotel accommodation.

During 2008 lastminute.com saw a 21% increase in sales of all-inclusive holidays as consumers looked to budget for their holidays and as a result the e-tailer has increased its all-inclusive product range for 2009.

It predicts rising sales for non - € euro destinations such as Tunisia, (which they claim saw a sales increase of 71% in 2008), Turkey, Egypt, the Czech Republic and the UK. Destinations where the pound remains strong, such as Bulgaria and South Africa, are also expected to fare well this year.

Lastminute.com says it is already witnessing a shift from 14 day holidays to ten days and anticipates seven-night pacakges to be the quickest to sell out during 2009. During 2008 it reported a reduction in holiday durations of around two days.

The retailer has also reported a move away from five-star hotels to three-star properties in luxury destinations such as Dubai, but warned that while consumers are increasingly price-driven, they do not want to cut down significantly on hotel quality. Sales of UK hotels were strong in 2008, with Liverpool bookings up 100% year on year for the retailer, Scottish hotels up on average 42% and Northern Ireland up 48%.