TL;DR
- New research says 65% of Brits are happy to skip meals out, hobbies and cinema trips to fund a holiday.
- Half (50%) want value-for-money packages that bundle accommodation, meals and entertainment into one price.
- Destination affordability now sways 51% of booking decisions, ahead of flight costs (38%) and accommodation (31%).
- 75% are booking now rather than waiting to see what happens.
- Younger travellers are leaning towards cooler Northern European breaks, with 41% picking a coolcation.
- The numbers come from an Ambassador Cruise Line survey of 2,043 UK adults, run by Mortar Research in July 2026.
What’s Happening With Holiday Budgets
Your clients are rearranging their whole month to protect one thing, and it is not the weekly takeaway. Fresh research commissioned by Ambassador Cruise Line, carried out by Mortar Research across 2,043 UK adults this July, found 65% are willing to give up dining out, hobbies and cinema trips so the holiday fund stays topped up.
That tells you something warm about where a break sits on the priority list right now. When money is tight, the holiday is the last thing people cut. Half of those surveyed (50%) said they want value-for-money packages that pull accommodation, meals and entertainment into a single price, so there are fewer surprises once they land.
A Closer Look
Here is the bit worth clocking. When your clients picture a holiday now, the first question is not the flight price, it is whether the destination itself works for the money. Affordability of the place they are heading tops the list for 51% of bookers, ahead of flight costs at 38% and accommodation at 31%. So the client sitting in front of you is already weighing how far their budget will stretch once they land, often before they have named a date.
And they are not hanging about. Three quarters (75%) said they are booking now rather than taking a wait-and-see approach, so the appetite is there and the diaries are open. Environmental impact came further down the list, named by 8%, though that changes with age. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 35% said heatwaves are affecting their plans, and 41% of younger travellers are choosing a coolcation in Northern Europe or the Nordics as a result.
Where This Helps
Right, here is where a good agent earns their keep. When half your clients want everything bundled and more than half are counting affordability first, the person who can line up the right destination at the right total, meals and extras included, is worth their weight. That is a value story, not a discount one, and it plays to exactly what a professional does that a search bar cannot.
Good news? You have more to work with than a price. Younger clients booking coolcations open up Norway, Iceland and the Baltic coast for summer, while value-hungry families respond to a clear all-in number they can plan around. There is a useful detail on where people look for ideas too: 65% of 18 to 44-year-olds turn to social media for inspiration, while 46% of over-45s still prefer a search engine, so it is worth meeting each client where they already browse.
The Helpful Bit
None of this asks anyone to spend more. It says people have decided the holiday is staying in the budget, and they want help making every pound of it count. That is a good place for an agent to be standing … and a good reason to lead with value the next time a client asks where they should go this year.
