90% Vote “No†for Mobile Phones in the Air
Heathrow Ties for World’s Least Favorite Airport
BA Slips in Airline Rankings but RyanAir Still Bottom Amongst Brits
Jerba, Tunisia, Next Travel Hotspot
London – October 29, 2007 – TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, has announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 2,500 travelers from around the world. According to the survey, British travelers take more time off than the rest of the world but are far less active when on holiday. British Airways survives 2007 to be among the world’s favorites but Heathrow remains a horror. Meanwhile TripAdvisor travelers give a resounding NO to mobiles in the skies. The world and especially the Americans are becoming more “germophobic†but it’s not such a big deal for the Brits.
TripAdvisor also unveiled its TravelCast list of emerging hotspots for 2008 with Jerba, Tunisia topping the list.
No to Mobiles in the Air
TripAdvisor travellers gave an unequivocal answer to the question as to whether use of mobile phones should be allowed on flights. There was a resounding “no†from 90 percent of British and 78 percent of travelers worldwide.
Meanwhile there is a lot more tolerance about people’s viewing preferences. When asked if they think they have a right to tell an airline passenger sitting next to them to turn off video content they deem inappropriate, 58 percent said “no.â€
Superb Schipol – Horrible Heathrow
The favorite airport, according to worldwide travelers is Schipol International Airport. Heathrow along with Chicago’s O’Hare were nominated the world’s least favorite airports. According to travelers, the top three key features that make an airport great are
easy to navigate and get to your gate, clean restrooms and good parking.
World’s Favorite and not so Favorite Airlines
Perhaps surprisingly, despite bad publicity this year, British Airways, which came top in the same survey last year, has only slipped to third place overall and still managed to get voted top airline by travelers outside the U.S.
American Airlines was the favorite airline among worldwide respondents. Travelers selected these airlines as their favorite primarily because of their friendly and helpful staff, good on-time arrival and departure records, and comfortable seats. British travelers rate personal comfort more important than others.
U.S. Airways was the least favorite airline according to respondents. This wooden spoon was awarded to RyanAir in the TripAdvisor Travel Trends survey last year. The budget airline however retained the booby prize among British travelers, a third of whom voted it their least favorite. The principal reasons given for nominating an airline as least favorite were delays/cancellations, unfriendly staff, uncomfortable seats and poor legroom. A fifth of British travelers also put price gouging on their list.
Air travel reward programmers are less import to the British than the rest of the world. Just over one-third said that they keep track of their air miles, compared with more than half of all travelers.
More Time Off
Nearly half (47 percent) of Brits had between four and six weeks annual holiday entitlement during the past 12 months and 43 percent had six weeks or more, compared with just under a third of all travelers for the same period. Sixty-two percent of British respondents believe they need six weeks or more annual holiday leave and 85 percent of British travelers intend to take up all their holiday entitlement during the next 12 months, compared with 76 percent of all travelers.
Life’s A Beach
When it comes to the type of holiday 64 percent of us will opt to head to the beach and most likely to do little else. Only 12 percent of British travelers are very likely to go hiking, five percent cycling, nine percent sailing and seven percent engage in an adventure activity, compared with 21, 10, 29 and 15 percent respectively for all travelers.
Switching Off
The British, it would seem, are better at switching off on holiday than other nationalities. Sixty-five percent said they never check their e-mail or voicemail when on holiday, unlike only 42 percent of all travelers.
However, it takes long for us to “unwind,†compared to other travelers. Only 17 percent are very likely to dress more provocatively while on holiday and 13 percent have stipulated the “whatever happens on holiday stays on holiday†rule, compared with 24 percent and 19 percent respectively for all travelers. Only seven percent of British respondents admitted to having been to a clothing-optional or adults-only resort.
A Lighter Shade of Green
Whilst environmental concerns about travel grow, British travelers are less enthusiastic than the rest of the world to embrace eco-friendly practices. When asked whether they plan to be more environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in the coming year, nearly one-third (27 percent) said, “no,†compared with only one-fifth (19 percent of all travelers). Forty-five percent of Brits said that they were unlikely to visit an environmentally friendly hotel or resort, compared with 30 percent worldwide.
Carried Away
Fifty-five percent of British travelers said that they had brought or bought an additional piece of luggage for their return trip, to pack items purchased while on holiday. Nineteen percent confessed to having taken a “souvenir†from a hotel such as towel or bathrobe.
When asked what they would never leave home without, five percent admitted to taking their teddy or other comforter with them on holiday.
Weak Dollar Woos
Fifty-four percent of respondents from outside the U.S. said that favorable exchange rates will inspire them to travel to the U.S. more in the next 12 months. Correspondingly, 41 percent of Americans said the unfavorable exchange rates will either prevent them from going, or limit their travel to Europe in the coming year.
Clean Conscious
Eighty percent of respondents have a concern about germs, bacteria and viruses when travelling, but this figure falls to 70 percent among Brits. Airplanes are the most germy, according to 28 percent of those polled. Public transportation was next, followed by restaurants, hotels, and airports. British travelers are most concerned about germs at restaurants, while Americans are far more wary of airplanes.
Fifty-five percent said they tend to wash and disinfect their hands more often while travelling, but only 40 percent of British took the same precautions. Forty-five percent of travelers said their worst experience at a hotel was a dirty bathroom or dirty sheets, and 17 percent said their worst experience was the presence of vermin.
Jerba, Tunisia, TravelCast’s Next Hot Spot in 2008
TripAdvisor TravelCast is a barometer of what’s hot in travel destinations. TripAdvisor engineers have developed a proprietary algorithm that looks at several criteria, including changes in search activity and postings throughout the world’s largest travel community, www.tripadvisor.com . The TravelCast then predicts the rising stars in travel.
TripAdvisor TravelCast Top Ten World Destinations for 2008
Jerba, Tunisia
Makandi Bay, Egypt
Phangnga, Thailand
Kovalam, India
Sabaudia, Italy
Asilah, Morocco
Ko Phangan, Thailand
La Plagne, France
Yangshuo, China
Kotor, Montenegro
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly 30 million monthly visitors (source: comScore Media Metrix, Digital Calculator Report, July 2007) across eight popular travel brands, TripAdvisor® sites, bookingbuddy.com ™, cruisecritic.com™, independenttraveler.com™, seatguru.com®, smartertravel.com™, travel-library.com™ and travelpod.com™. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors, five million registered members and 10 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 270,000+ hotels and attractions and operate in the U.S.
Heathrow Ties for World’s Least Favorite Airport
BA Slips in Airline Rankings but RyanAir Still Bottom Amongst Brits
Jerba, Tunisia, Next Travel Hotspot
London – October 29, 2007 – TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, has announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 2,500 travelers from around the world. According to the survey, British travelers take more time off than the rest of the world but are far less active when on holiday. British Airways survives 2007 to be among the world’s favorites but Heathrow remains a horror. Meanwhile TripAdvisor travelers give a resounding NO to mobiles in the skies. The world and especially the Americans are becoming more “germophobic†but it’s not such a big deal for the Brits.
TripAdvisor also unveiled its TravelCast list of emerging hotspots for 2008 with Jerba, Tunisia topping the list.
No to Mobiles in the Air
TripAdvisor travellers gave an unequivocal answer to the question as to whether use of mobile phones should be allowed on flights. There was a resounding “no†from 90 percent of British and 78 percent of travelers worldwide.
Meanwhile there is a lot more tolerance about people’s viewing preferences. When asked if they think they have a right to tell an airline passenger sitting next to them to turn off video content they deem inappropriate, 58 percent said “no.â€
Superb Schipol – Horrible Heathrow
The favorite airport, according to worldwide travelers is Schipol International Airport. Heathrow along with Chicago’s O’Hare were nominated the world’s least favorite airports. According to travelers, the top three key features that make an airport great are
easy to navigate and get to your gate, clean restrooms and good parking.
World’s Favorite and not so Favorite Airlines
Perhaps surprisingly, despite bad publicity this year, British Airways, which came top in the same survey last year, has only slipped to third place overall and still managed to get voted top airline by travelers outside the U.S.
American Airlines was the favorite airline among worldwide respondents. Travelers selected these airlines as their favorite primarily because of their friendly and helpful staff, good on-time arrival and departure records, and comfortable seats. British travelers rate personal comfort more important than others.
U.S. Airways was the least favorite airline according to respondents. This wooden spoon was awarded to RyanAir in the TripAdvisor Travel Trends survey last year. The budget airline however retained the booby prize among British travelers, a third of whom voted it their least favorite. The principal reasons given for nominating an airline as least favorite were delays/cancellations, unfriendly staff, uncomfortable seats and poor legroom. A fifth of British travelers also put price gouging on their list.
Air travel reward programmers are less import to the British than the rest of the world. Just over one-third said that they keep track of their air miles, compared with more than half of all travelers.
More Time Off
Nearly half (47 percent) of Brits had between four and six weeks annual holiday entitlement during the past 12 months and 43 percent had six weeks or more, compared with just under a third of all travelers for the same period. Sixty-two percent of British respondents believe they need six weeks or more annual holiday leave and 85 percent of British travelers intend to take up all their holiday entitlement during the next 12 months, compared with 76 percent of all travelers.
Life’s A Beach
When it comes to the type of holiday 64 percent of us will opt to head to the beach and most likely to do little else. Only 12 percent of British travelers are very likely to go hiking, five percent cycling, nine percent sailing and seven percent engage in an adventure activity, compared with 21, 10, 29 and 15 percent respectively for all travelers.
Switching Off
The British, it would seem, are better at switching off on holiday than other nationalities. Sixty-five percent said they never check their e-mail or voicemail when on holiday, unlike only 42 percent of all travelers.
However, it takes long for us to “unwind,†compared to other travelers. Only 17 percent are very likely to dress more provocatively while on holiday and 13 percent have stipulated the “whatever happens on holiday stays on holiday†rule, compared with 24 percent and 19 percent respectively for all travelers. Only seven percent of British respondents admitted to having been to a clothing-optional or adults-only resort.
A Lighter Shade of Green
Whilst environmental concerns about travel grow, British travelers are less enthusiastic than the rest of the world to embrace eco-friendly practices. When asked whether they plan to be more environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in the coming year, nearly one-third (27 percent) said, “no,†compared with only one-fifth (19 percent of all travelers). Forty-five percent of Brits said that they were unlikely to visit an environmentally friendly hotel or resort, compared with 30 percent worldwide.
Carried Away
Fifty-five percent of British travelers said that they had brought or bought an additional piece of luggage for their return trip, to pack items purchased while on holiday. Nineteen percent confessed to having taken a “souvenir†from a hotel such as towel or bathrobe.
When asked what they would never leave home without, five percent admitted to taking their teddy or other comforter with them on holiday.
Weak Dollar Woos
Fifty-four percent of respondents from outside the U.S. said that favorable exchange rates will inspire them to travel to the U.S. more in the next 12 months. Correspondingly, 41 percent of Americans said the unfavorable exchange rates will either prevent them from going, or limit their travel to Europe in the coming year.
Clean Conscious
Eighty percent of respondents have a concern about germs, bacteria and viruses when travelling, but this figure falls to 70 percent among Brits. Airplanes are the most germy, according to 28 percent of those polled. Public transportation was next, followed by restaurants, hotels, and airports. British travelers are most concerned about germs at restaurants, while Americans are far more wary of airplanes.
Fifty-five percent said they tend to wash and disinfect their hands more often while travelling, but only 40 percent of British took the same precautions. Forty-five percent of travelers said their worst experience at a hotel was a dirty bathroom or dirty sheets, and 17 percent said their worst experience was the presence of vermin.
Jerba, Tunisia, TravelCast’s Next Hot Spot in 2008
TripAdvisor TravelCast is a barometer of what’s hot in travel destinations. TripAdvisor engineers have developed a proprietary algorithm that looks at several criteria, including changes in search activity and postings throughout the world’s largest travel community, www.tripadvisor.com . The TravelCast then predicts the rising stars in travel.
TripAdvisor TravelCast Top Ten World Destinations for 2008
Jerba, Tunisia
Makandi Bay, Egypt
Phangnga, Thailand
Kovalam, India
Sabaudia, Italy
Asilah, Morocco
Ko Phangan, Thailand
La Plagne, France
Yangshuo, China
Kotor, Montenegro
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor® Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly 30 million monthly visitors (source: comScore Media Metrix, Digital Calculator Report, July 2007) across eight popular travel brands, TripAdvisor® sites, bookingbuddy.com ™, cruisecritic.com™, independenttraveler.com™, seatguru.com®, smartertravel.com™, travel-library.com™ and travelpod.com™. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors, five million registered members and 10 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 270,000+ hotels and attractions and operate in the U.S.
