Brits will be booking a day off work on ‘Blue Monday’ – so they can book a holiday to cheer themselves up, reveals research from World Travel Market.
January 15 has been dubbed Blue Monday this year, according to a formula which calculates the ‘perfect storm’ of post-Christmas doldrums, chilly dark evenings and hefty credit card bills.
It also takes into account the failing motivation to maintain our New Year resolutions and the long haul to payday.
However, across the country, plucky Brits are determined to beat the blues, with thousands planning to take the day off to book an escape away as a pick-me-up.
Research by World Travel Market found that 20-somethings and 30-somethings, in particular, were keen to book a blues-busting break – and Londoners were most likely to take the day off to secure themselves a holiday.
The survey of 2,002 adults found:
- 63% of those aged 25 to 44 will be taking the day off on Blue Monday
- 77% of those aged 25-44 will be booking a holiday on Blue Monday
- 33% of those aged 45-64 will be booking a holiday on Blue Monday
- The most popular holiday destinations are Europe (39%); UK and Ireland (31%); the US (17%) and Canada (10%).
- Other blues-busting activities include: hanging out with family or friends (26%); exercise (19%); shopping (18%); and staying in bed (13%).
World Travel Market spokesperson, Paul Nelson, said: “With the festive decorations coming down, there’s not much to cheer us up in January – so millions of us will be researching holidays and booking a break to give us something to look forward to.
“Our research reveals that many will even take the day off work on January 15 to focus on bagging a bargain.
“The survey also showed that one of the main factors driving ‘Blue Monday’ bookings is the desire to find a good deal – which is another reason to be cheerful.
“The travel industry traditionally offers sales and discounts in January to encourage bookings, and the original ‘Blue Monday’ formula was devised for a travel agency to help it make the most of the ‘peaks’ season.
“Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia are back on the radar for 2018 so there should be plenty of sunshine destinations to cheer us up and help beat the blues.”
World Travel Market is the event where the industry conducts its business deals, facilitating around £2.8 billion in holidays for consumers to book and enjoy.
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises six leading B2B events across four continents generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The events are;
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL – London every November generating around £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 5-7 Nov 2018 – London.
T>F Travel Forward is a brand new travel technology event co-located with WTM London 2018 and part of the WTM portfolio of events. The inaugural T>F Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer programme will take place from 5 – 7 November 2018 at ExCeL London, UK showcasing next generation technology for travel and hospitality.
WTM Latin America now in its fifth edition attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates around US$ 374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 7,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 3-5 April 2018 – Sao Paulo
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/. Next event: 18-20 April 2018 – Cape Town.
About Arabian Travel Market
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2017 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5bn over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM will showcase over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 25-year history. http://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com/ www.wtmworld.com. Next event: 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. Taking place annually since 1998, IGTM brings together more than 500 golf tourism suppliers and 400 pre-qualified buyers for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments and exclusive networking opportunities. Showcasing a different golf destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from over 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 15-18 Oct 2018 – Slovenia.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face to face through data and digital tools at over 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than 7m participants. East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.
More information, please contact:
Paul Nelson – WTM Portfolio PR Manager
T: +44 (0)20 8910 7032/ M: +44 (0)79 1955 5510
Natalia Hartmann – WTM Portfolio PR Executive
T: +44 (0)20 8439 5535/ M: +44 (0)74 0336 7331
