Budget Travel Trends

It`s fair to say that there is not one area of our every day lives that hasn`t been negatively affected by the recession. As the world has plummeted into a global economic crisis we have all had no choice but to tighten our purse strings and be much more careful about the way in which we spend our money. Instead of wondering which new phone to buy or what colour to order those news shoes in, more and more people are now experiencing the stresses of wondering how they will pay next month`s bills. The economic crisis has not only had an impact on the way in which we live our day to day lives, however, but also affected our holiday plans. Though a few weeks in the sunshine is something most of us look forward to for the other eleven and a half months of the year, the recession has meant that those who did manage holidays in 2009 took them on a tight budget.

One of the most noticeable travel trends to come about as a direct result of the recession is many holiday makers apparent move away from the traditional European hotspots. Though countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal have always proved to be hugely popular holiday destinations, the strength of the euro in comparison with the pound means many holiday makers have wisely been looking further afield for their well earned break in 2009.. That isn`t to say, however, that Europe has completely fallen off many people`s holiday radars, as non-euro European countries have rapidly grown in popularity. Countries in Eastern Europe such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia and Romania have proved particularly popular, as flights and accommodation are cheap and you won`t need piles of spending money when you get there. Furthermore not only are these countries extremely beautiful, they are yet to be over-run with tourists in the way that many more traditional European holiday destinations are – definitely a bonus!

So called `mid-haul` destinations have also become very popular in 2009 and the introduction of cheap flights to destinations such as Egypt and Morocco mean that many are bypassing Europe altogether in favour of somewhere both cheaper and more exotic. In terms of long haul flights, the strength of the American dollar has made 2009 an expensive year to visit the United States and instead Australia has stepped in as the top long-haul holiday destination. For those willing to spend all those hours in a place, the crash of the Australian dollar meant that there has never been a cheaper time to go `down under`!

As the recession plods on, holiday trends in the coming year will still be heavily impacted by tight budget restrictions. In order to entice people back to Europe, many holiday operators have slashed their prices, meaning a cheap holiday in Albufeira will once again be possible. Non-euro European holiday destinations are likely to grow even further in popularity and many experts predict Africa will be the place to go in summer 2010, with countries like Rwanda and Kenya slowly becoming holiday hotspots.