Parents pick USA as ‘most wanted’ destination in holiday half term report
The USA is now the ‘most sought after’ half term holiday destination for families, according to a new survey by the Post Office, in which long haul locations – America, the Caribbean and Australia – took three of the top four places¹.
The poll of parents by the UK’s largest provider of foreign currency, also showed that 29 per cent of those surveyed would be happy to spend over four hours on a plane for a one week holiday – with one in 20 willing to travel for more than 10 hours to reach their holiday destination.
Parents of schoolchildren aged between 5-18 years were asked where they would most like to visit with their children for one week over half term, if money were no object. The United States proved clear favorite with 42 per cent of the total vote.²
Its strong performance was boosted by the popularity of long-time family favorite Florida, which accounted for 61 per cent of the American vote and a staggering 26 per cent of the overall total – despite a flight time in excess of seven hours. Understandably the allure of Orlando’s Disneyworld® had a marked impact on the Florida vote.
Indeed, the strength of sterling against the US dollar saw Post Office® sales of the currency increase by over 13 per cent when compared with summer 2006.
Altogether long haul destinations took five of the top ten places – with the Caribbean in third place, Australia at number four, New Zealand at seven and Canada at ten – despite the long flight times involved. One week in Australia, for example, would involve a cool 24 hours in the air each way and yet it is one of the most desirable family destinations for a week-long family break.
Long haul destinations accounted for 57 per cent of the 60 destinations named by respondents to the Post Office survey. Among the more adventurous choices by parents were Alaska, Botswana, Chile, China, Fiji, Macchu Pichu in Peru and San Diego.
Egypt, one of the Post Office’s fastest growing currencies this summer (with customer demand up by 12.5 per cent compared with summer 2006), is another popular choice, weighing in at around six hours flying time and with packages costing around 15 per cent less than in July and August.
Leaving aspirations aside, the Post Office holiday survey, conducted by YouGov, revealed that traditional favorites Spain and France still head the list of half term breaks actually booked by families. The USA is in third place indicating that the gap between reality and aspiration may be closing.
