A new poll by one of the UK’s leading online independent travel agents has revealed that three quarters of Britons who have been on holiday in the past 5 years did not pick up a holiday brochure before booking; suggesting a decline in the more traditional method of shopping for holidays.

Holiday brochures could be becoming a thing of the past, as a new study by the UK’s fastest growing online independent travel agent has revealed that the majority of holidaymakers who’ve holidayed abroad in the past 5 years didn’t use a brochure from a travel company to help them decide where to go or what to book.

The study was carried out by online travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk, in a bid to discover more about the changing booking habits of British holidaymakers. 2,061 Britons took part in the poll, each of whom has been abroad on holiday within the past five years.

The study was conducted externally, meaning respondents were not solely sunshine.co.uk customers.

When asked, ‘Did you use a holiday brochure before booking one of your holidays in the past five years?’ 76% said that they did not. Further to this, 63% had not stepped foot in a travel agency to discuss or book one of their holidays in the past five years, with the majority claiming to have carried out the process purely online.

Those who had not used a holiday brochure in the past five years were asked why they had not done so, and were able to choose more than one applicable answer. 27% said they ‘didn’t offer enough variety’ whilst 82% also said they’d used the internet instead and saw no need for a holiday brochure.

Of those who said they hadn’t gone into a travel agency in the past 5 years, 41% blamed it on a ‘lack of time’, whilst a further 38% said it was because they wanted to avoid commission-driven sales staff in high street travel agencies.

Of the 24% who had used a holiday brochure in the past 5 years, two fifths, 44%, said that they hadn’t ended up booking a holiday that was shown in the booklet. Of those who did end up booking a holiday from a brochure, 57% said they used the internet as well to research the hotels or resort.

Chris Brown, co-founder of online travel agency sunshine.co.uk, had the following to say:

“I think holiday brochures are becoming less of a necessity now more than ever, as the internet provides a wealth of opportunities with regards to searching for and booking holidays. We now live in a very internet-reliant culture and people seem to have more time to spend in front of their laptops or computers, than venturing out onto the high street.

“Whilst holiday brochures are good for some people, they are often very limited and only offer a small selection of hotels and resorts. The internet is an unlimited resource for holidaymakers and everything can be found in one place. Therefore, for many, it’s much easier and quicker to turn to the web.”