UK Holidays Match 2019 Peak, but Spending Plans Point to Caution
Eighty-eight percent of Britons took a holiday over the past 12 months, matching the pre-pandemic peak recorded in 2019, ABTA said in its October 2026 report. The Guardian
The report is titled Holiday Habits 2025-26. It examines how people travelled over the last 12 months and their holiday plans for the year ahead. ABTA
Seventy-four percent took a holiday in the UK and 62% took a holiday abroad. ABTA found more people went on holiday than the previous year, with increases in both UK and overseas trips.
Spain was the most visited country abroad. The share of Britons who said they visited Spain rose four percentage points to 36%, according to ABTA. Portugal moved up to sixth in popularity.
For next year, almost one in three people plan to spend less on travelling abroad. In October 2026, the UK travel industry warned that fewer people plan to ringfence, or set aside, money for holidays abroad next year amid the UK cost-of-living squeeze. ABTA's travel confidence index, a score that tracks how positive people feel about travel, dipped to +50.
Only 26% of respondents said they were planning to visit Spain next year, with Japan and Norway cited in the top 10, according to ABTA polling.
Booking habits changed through 2026. ABTA said late bookings and shorter city breaks were an increasing feature of holidays. ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said at the ABTA travel convention in Madeira that people switched holiday plans and booked later in 2026.
Tanzer said the travel industry contributed £57bn to the UK economy.
The broader context here is a split between past travel and future intent. Participation recovered to the 2019 benchmark across domestic and overseas trips, while forward indicators on spend, ringfenced budgets and confidence point to restraint. Late booking links the two. It preserves choice for households facing cost pressures while shortening the planning window for suppliers.
Looking at what this means for the next booking cycle, operators face steady volumes but less certain revenue. High participation does not guarantee the same income if travellers trade down, shorten trips, or swap mainstream sun destinations and long-haul travel for city breaks and other markets. The Spain data shows that tension, with 36% visiting in the past year but far fewer naming it for next year as Japan and Norway enter the top 10. The question for capacity, pricing and marketing is whether that is diversification or simply late bookers who have yet to decide.
