BKNG Booking Holdings Inc

• Zimbabwe, South Africa, and India are KAYAK's top three trending holiday destinations for summer 2025
• Experiencing completely different culture, nature and food are the top reasons Brits look further afield
• 1/5 of Brits surveyed say they are likely to treat themselves to prime sun beds, and business or first-class flight tickets, when flying long-haul

LONDON, Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- From safaris in Zimbabwe, to surfing in South Africa, and spiritual retreats in India, Brits are longing for big adventures and long-haul holidays in summer 2025, according to new data from KAYAK, the world's leading travel search engine.

The data, which analysed flight searches on the site, revealed that eight of the top ten trending travel destinations for summer 2025 are located outside of Europe. Zimbabwe takes the top spot, with flight searches to the capital, Harare, seeing a 93% increase year on year.

Further underscoring this trend, KAYAK surveyed British travellers on their summer holiday plans next year and found that almost one-third (28%) of Brits have already explored Europe and are now wanting to head further afield, and 9% even admitting to finding European holidays boring.

So why long-haul? When asked, experiencing a completely different culture (42%), further away feels more like an adventure (28%), and experiencing different nature (24%) and trying completely different foods (20%) stand out as some of the top reasons for Brits' urge to travel long-haul. Looking at the top trending destinations specifically, people are keen to visit these bucket-list locations to see famous landmarks for themselves, such as the Taj Mahal in India, or Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Animals also have a pull, with nearly one-third of people saying they'd travel to India just to see elephants and tigers, and 13% of people revealing they'd like to go on a safari adventure for their next big holiday.

KAYAK'S BEST LONG-HAUL TRAVEL DEALS FOR SUMMER 2025
Whilst long-haul travel is on the rise, some of the popular destinations are on the more expensive side. In fact, trending location Australia comes out as KAYAK's most expensive place to go next summer, with an average economy return ticket to Brisbane currently landing at £1,417. Still, there's a silver lining: prices for Australia have dropped by 7% year over year, offering better value than before.

And whilst almost half of Brits (41%) say they'd rather go on one big long-haul holiday once a year instead of multiple shorter ones, 48% of people say they'd still want to spend the same amount of money they'd usually spend on a holiday, or even less (25%) as they've already spent a lot of money on flights.
 
If you're looking to travel further afield next summer without spending too much money, it's worth looking at some of the less popular destinations outside of Europe, as there are great deals to places such as Morocco, Canada, and the US.

HOW BRITS ARE UPGRADING THEIR LONG HAUL HOLIDAYS
Money doesn't seem to be a concern for everyone as almost a quarter (23%) of people say they'd actually spend more on a long-haul holiday, justifying it by saying they've already spent the extra money to go on a far-flung adventure, so they might as well treat themselves when they're there too.
 
This includes everything from going out for nice meals (67%) and taking part in cool experiences you can't do at home or in Europe (65%), such as snorkelling or going on a safari, to booking nicer accommodation with breakfast and a prime sunbed (51%), or even upgrading their flight to business or first class for a more comfortable journey (29%). In fact, business and first-class searches are up on KAYAK.co.uk by 31% and 21% on average respectively compared to summer 2024, while prices remain stable for both flight classes – seems like Brits aim to enjoy travelling in style!
 
Rachel Mumford, KAYAK UK Travel Expert, says: "Going long-haul is always exciting. Whether you're heading to Australia for the beautiful long beaches, or going off the beaten track in South East Asia, experiencing something new and different to home is the ultimate adventure.

"2025 is shaping up to be an ideal time to tick long-haul dream destinations off your bucket list without breaking the bank, with airfare prices currently dropping to iconic destinations like Australia, Japan, and Indonesia. Coupled with favourable exchange rates, travelers could enjoy even greater value for their money while exploring these incredible locations."

About KAYAK
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading travel search engine. With billions of searches on our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, accommodation, car rental and holiday package. We also support business travellers with our corporate travel solution.

KAYAK Data Methodology: Based on flight searches made on Kayak.co.uk in the period between 06/01/2024-30/10/2024 for flights with departure between 01/06/2025-15/09/2025 from any UK airport. They were compared to the same search and travel period one year prior. All prices are average prices for economy, return tickets. Prices may vary and savings cannot be guaranteed. Percentages for changes in searches are approximate.

Survey Methodology
An online survey was conducted by PureSpectrum among 2205 British consumers with an interest in long-haul travel. The research fieldwork took place between 3rd - 5th December, 2024.

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