Redion's 2022 Summer Holiday Barometer

Many Belgians will be going on holiday this summer, and with a bigger budget.
However, Belgian holidaymakers remain worried!
Ongoing uncertainties linked to the coronavirus crisis, the situation in Ukraine and runaway inflation are worrying our fellow citizens, even though pre-crisis holiday habits seem to be resurfacing.\

Main results of the 2022 Holiday Barometer

Here are the main trends from Redion's 21st Holiday Barometer:

• Travel intentions: 71% of Belgians say they will go on a trip this summer, an increase of 18 points compared to 2021. This is the highest rate in recent years.
• Trip length: Short holidays (a maximum of 1 week) are slightly declining and remain popular with 39% of Belgians (-1 pt vs. 2019), 2-week holidays are down 3 points (34%), holidays of 3 weeks or more are up 4 points (27%).
• Trip frequency: of the 71% of Belgians who say they will go on holiday this summer, 38% say they will only travel once (+2 pts) and 33% several times (+16 pts).
• Worries this summer: the risks still linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the situation in Ukraine, but above all the impact of rising prices, are worrying holidaymakers greatly, to the point of affecting their holiday plans. Inflation is dampening the enthusiasm of 62% of Belgians, the pandemic 48% and the situation in Ukraine 43%. How these three factors evolve over the coming months will therefore be decisive.
• Holiday destinations: France remains our compatriots' favourite nearby foreign destination (30%, -8 pts). As in 2021, it is followed by Belgium (27%, -5 pts). Spain keeps third place in the ranking (22%, +3 pts). Italy (11%, +1 pt) and the Netherlands (9%, -1 pt) complete the top 5.
• The average holiday budget of Belgians for this summer (i.e. the average across all types of household composition) is up 15% and stands at €2,289 (vs. €1,983 in 2021). It stands at €2,277 for Dutch speakers and €2,301 for French speakers. Note that this year, the lowest holiday budgets (< €1,000) are less common (22%, -3 pts), while the highest holiday budgets (> €2,500) are increasing (29%, +8 pts).
• Types of accommodation: hotel stays are regaining their pre-crisis popularity (47%, +12 pts), at the expense of apartments or holiday rentals (29%, -10 pts); 18% of holidaymakers choose to stay with friends, family, or in their second home.
• Ecological footprint: 13% (+1 pt) of Belgians say the ecological footprint plays a crucial role in choosing their destination, and 52% (+2 pts) give it an important role. More and more Belgians are gradually putting more environmentally responsible behaviour into practice.
• Types of holiday destinations: seaside holidays remain invariably the most popular (55%, =), but this year it is especially city trips that are on the rise (26%, +6 pts).
• Means of transport to reach the holiday destination: the personal car remains the most popular means of transport, but is losing some of its appeal (48%, -14 pts). Air travel is gaining popularity, even though it has not (yet) returned to its pre-crisis level (37%, +7 pts).
• Typical holidays: during their holidays, Belgians mostly want to relax (37%, +7 pts), surrounded by family members (36%, -12 pts) and enjoy their holiday accommodation (22%, -9 pts).
• Destination selection criteria: while budget (43%, -1 pt) and climate/weather (41%, -2 pts) remain the most important criteria when choosing a holiday destination, the quality of tourist infrastructure (40%, +9 pts) this year overtakes the risk of Covid-19 infection, which drops to 9th place (26%, -14 pts). The war in Ukraine influences 24% of Belgians in choosing their destination.

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Notable differences	2021 Holidays	2022 Holidays
Travel intentions	Yes : 53%	Yes : 71%
Reasons given for not travelling	Covid-19 : 29% Finances : 42%	Covid-19 : 9% Finances : 64%
Multiple holidays	17%	33%
Holidays in Belgium	32%	27%
Holidays abroad	France : 38% - Spain : 19%	France : 30% - Spain : 22%
Holiday budget/household	€1,983	€2,289
City trip destinations	20%	26%
Accommodation	Hotels : 35% - Rentals : 39%	Hotels : 47% - Rentals : 29%
Transport	Personal car: 62% - Plane : 30%	Personal car: 48% - Plane : 37%
Destination selection criteria	1° Budget – 2° Climate – 3° Covid-19	1° Budget – 2° Climate – 3° Infrastructure (9° Covid-19, 11° War in Ukraine)

Typical profile of the Belgian traveller for summer 2022

More Belgians will be going on holiday during the summer of 2022.
Those who intend to go on holiday:

• have a bigger holiday budget than last year;
• stay slightly less in their own country, or choose nearby destinations and travel there by car (but less than in 2021);
• traditionally go on holiday with their household bubble to relax and enjoy their holiday accommodation in a quiet place, even though city trips are gaining popularity this year;
• are worried about their health and that of their loved ones;
• take Covid-19 risks into account, but no longer consider the pandemic a major concern. On the other hand, budget is taking on an important role, and the geopolitical situation (the war in Ukraine) is appearing among their worries;
• are increasingly adapting their behaviour with regard to their ecological footprint.

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