Millennials (aged 24-39) and Generation Z (aged 16-23) adults have been on almost twice as many dream holidays as their parents (over age 50), according to national research*.

And, as the generation of ‘immediate gains’, they are the most likely to pay for their dream holiday using their credit cards, according to the report from money.co.uk today.

As up to 5.2 million UK holidaymakers book holidays this month, it has been revealed that the majority of Brits will take a ‘dream’ holiday twice in their life.

However, younger holidaymakers aged 16-30 have already been on more than two dream holidays. This means that by the time they reach their parents’ age, they could have enjoyed seven or more dream trips, leaving their parents firmly in the shade when it comes to globe-trotting.

Surprisingly, even with Brexit, Europe comes out as the top destination for both dream holidays and the actual holidays that UK tourists are planning to take in 2020.

Europe (19%), the Caribbean (16%) and Australia & New Zealand (15%) are the most popular choices for dream holidays among British tourists, though North America, the Maldives and the Far East also figure prominently.

Almost a third of 16-30-year-old holidaymakers (29%) are going on a dream holiday in 2020, a sharp contrast with the three in 10 (30%) of Brits who are not going on holiday anywhere this year.

Salman Haqqi, a money.co.uk personal finance expert, said, “It certainly seems that Millennials and Generation Z are not prepared to wait as long as their parents’ generation for their dream holidays.

“In fact, quite the opposite, younger adults are likely to have been on twice as many dream holidays as their parents already, despite their tender years, according to our study.

“That might be down to the way the different age groups prefer to pay for their dream holidays. The younger generations are the most likely to pay for their dream holiday on a credit card while their parents prefer to save up and pay in cash.”

On average, Brits spend £5,000 on a dream holiday trip plus an average of £2,500 in spending money, according to the study. That’s double the financial commitment of a regular holiday, which costs UK holidaymakers around £2,500 plus around £1,400 extra in spending money.

Men are more likely to spend more on their dream holiday compared to women. Men are also the most likely to use a credit card to pay for that dream holiday, according to the money.co.uk report.

The older generation (over 50), however, will spend the most (£5,331) on that once-in-a-lifetime trip. And more than three in five (61%) holidaymakers aged over 50 pay for their dream holiday with cash or savings, compared to less than half (47%) of those aged 31-40.

People living in London take the most holidays of a lifetime – an average of 2.53 dream holidays, with 10% of Londoners having been on eight or more dream holidays in their lives so far.

Salman Haqqi added, “We polled 2,000 people, and the data shows that nearly one in five Brits are going on their dream holiday in 2020.

“And Bristol seems to be the dream holiday capital of the UK, with almost a third living in or close to the city planning to go on their dream holiday this year.

“Some may criticise the younger generation for taking so many dream holidays so soon in life and paying for them on plastic, but actually using a credit card to finance such a big purchase offers additional financial protections that other forms of payment do not.

“Recent studies by ATOL show that 69% of holidaymakers do not always seek financial protection for their holidays, putting themselves at risk of being out of pocket if their airline or travel company goes out of business, as we saw with Thomas Cook last summer.

“Credit card transactions, between £100 and £30,000, are automatically covered by Section 75 protection – which isn’t the case with a debit card or cash payments. Credit card transactions offer peace of mind because you’re protected from the moment you book, in case it all goes wrong with the holiday or the holiday company.”

FAST FACTS

Holiday Planning

  • Londoners are the most likely to be going on a holiday abroad this year (80%)
  • People living in the North East are the least likely to be going anywhere on holiday this year (38%)
  • More than a quarter (27%) of people from Bristol are going on their dream holiday this year
  • Londoners are the most likely to go on a solo holiday (22%)
  • People in the North West are the least likely to go on a solo holiday (9%)
  • 1 in 14 (7%) people from Wales say that The Far East is their dream holiday Destination
  • People in Brighton (22%) chose the Caribbean as their top choice for a dream holiday, whereas 25% of people in Wrexham revealed they don’t have a dream holiday

Holiday Spending

  • Londoners spend the most on annual holidays – £3,046.43 on average (excluding spending money)
  • People living in the East Midlands spend the least on annual holidays – £1,795.22 (excluding spending money) on average
  • Holidaymakers from the North East will take £2,645.25 spending money for their dream holiday
  • Those from the East Midlands estimate they’d need less at £2,031.90 spending money for a dream holiday on average
  • Londoners are planning to take on average £1,865.87 of spending money on their actual (not dream) holiday this year
  • People in the South West are planning on taking an average £1,207.67 spending money on holiday this year
  • The East of England is the most frugal place in the country, with 5% revealing their dream holiday would cost less than £250
  • Holidaymakers from Norwich revealed they’d need between £5,000 – £10,000 spending money for their dream holiday (48%)
  • People in the North-East said they’d need, on average £2,645 spending money for their dream holiday, higher than any other region in the country

Holiday Payment and Protection

  • Two in five (39%) holidaymakers from East Anglia pay for their dream holiday by credit card
  • Less than one in five (17%) people from Glasgow and Bristol pay for their dream holiday by credit card
  • More than half (53%) of holidaymakers from the South West do not take into account the insurance cover provided with a credit card purchase when they decide whether to pay for a holiday with a credit card or another method
  • Two in five (40%) people from the North West do not take into account the insurance cover provided with a credit card purchase when they decide whether to pay for a holiday with a credit card or other method

*money.co.uk polled 2,000 UK adults via Censuswide in January 2020.

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