Trend Eight

Reasons travellers choose to re-visit a destination

Motivation	%
1. Memorable holiday in youth	28%
2. Lived in destination when younger or as a student	22%
3. I went there on honeymoon	6%
4. I had a memorable romance there	6%
5. I had a sabbatical or gap year there	4%
6. I got married or engaged there	4%

Wellbeing and nostalgia breaks

Wellbeing Holidays The growth in popularity of spas and hotels offering health and wellbeing facilities is expected to continue in 2008 and currently they account for every fifth hotel booking.

More than eight out of ten (81 per cent) of those seeking “wellness” breaks are looking for rest and relaxation and are willing to take a longer three to four day break as a result.19 A third (37 per cent) of hoteliers feel the wellbeing trend will continue to grow in the years to come or remain at a high level.

Nostalgia Tourism

As well as spa breaks we have seen the popularity of gastro-tourism and eco-tourism grow. In 2008 we expect to see an increase in ‘nostalgia tourism’ - the revisiting of a specific destination that has a tie to your past. According to research from Expedia.co.uk, 90 per cent of Brits20 are using some of their holiday time to re-visit a specific country or city that has a sentimental association to their lives instead of discovering somewhere new.

The UK was top of the list of the most popular places to re-visit, with traditional seaside resorts like Blackpool and Brighton particularly popular with those looking to re-live their quintessentially British childhoods.

The research reveals the top reasons for ‘nostalgia tourism’ are a desire to re-live youth with over a quarter (28 per cent) going back to a destination where they had a memorable childhood holiday and over a fifth (22 per cent) where they lived or studied in their younger years. Brits are also old romantics at heart with 6 per cent trying to re-live the memories of their honeymoon and 6 per cent motivated by the memories of a former romance.

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