Redion's 2018 Holiday Barometer

Redion's Holiday Barometer

Redion's 2018 Holiday Barometer has delivered its results. The survey aims to estimate Europeans' travel intentions, their motivations, destinations, budget and preferred types of stay. This year, Redion also looked into travellers' favourite cultural city and the countries Belgians consider the most gastronomic, historic, relaxing, and so on.
The survey was conducted among 16,000 people in 10 European countries, the United States, Brazil, India and China.

The big trends of 2018

• Holiday plans: 63% of Belgians say they will travel this summer, an increase of 3 points compared to 2017.
• Length and frequency of trips: among Belgian holidaymakers, short breaks of one week or less are down (42%, -3 points), while longer holidays of 3 weeks or more are up (23%, +3 points). There is also a rise in the number of Belgians travelling once (38%) and several times (25%).
• Holiday destinations: France remains the main foreign destination for our compatriots (34%), followed by Spain (19%) and Italy (12%). 16% of Belgians (unchanged from 2017) choose their own country as a holiday destination.
• The average "holiday" budget for Belgians this summer (average family budget) rises by 6% to €2,318.
• Type of accommodation: 53% of Belgians opt for a hotel, 32% for an apartment or holiday home. New trends are emerging among "millennials" (generation 2000), such as staying with locals, in a cabin, or primitive camping.
• Online reviews: 58% of Belgians leave an online review of their hotel, 50% of a restaurant, 39% of a rental.
• New York (25%), Rome (15%) and Barcelona (10%) are the cities Belgians absolutely want to see once in their lifetime. They also dream of attending major sporting events live, such as the 2020 UEFA Europa League (26%), the 2018 French Open (23%), the 2018 Tour de France (23%) or the 2018 FIFA World Cup (22%).
• When asked "In your opinion, which is the most romantic country in the world?", 50% of Belgians and 39% of Europeans answer Italy. France and Italy are considered the most gastronomic countries (41% of Belgians favour France and 18% Italy, while 22% believe Belgian gastronomy is the best!) Thailand is judged the "most exotic country" (by 18% of Belgians, 13% of Europeans and 9% of Americans).