Package holidays in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
The concept of package tourism has its root in the United Kingdom when, in 1841, English businessman Thomas Cook brought nearly 500 people on a trip from Leicester to Loughborough. The journey, costing one shilling per person, included train tickets, tea, and sandwiches. Around 180 years after that first all-inclusive excursion, the idea of a package holiday remains roughly the same. Today, the term mainly refers to vacations booked via a travel agency or tour operator that comprises transport, accommodation, and other services such as transfers and meals. As of March 2023, approximately 20 percent of Brits surveyed said they had booked a package holiday over the last year. When breaking down the expenses on this tourism product, Britons aged between 50 and 64 recorded the highest average expenditure on package holidays in the UK. However, between April 2021 and March 2022, weekly household spending on package travel was significantly lower than in the 2019/2020 fiscal year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That said, the number of UK package holiday users showed strong signs of recovery in 2022 and was forecast to surpass pre-pandemic levels in the following year.
