UK travel behaviour is moving away from traditional peak-season patterns, in favour of off-peak travel, emerging destinations and hybrid budget-luxury trips, according to new data from Captify (part of Verve).

Travellers are looking beyond established hotspots and traditional definitions of budget and luxury as consumers reconsider when they travel, where they go, how they allocate their budget and which tools they use to make decisions. 

Travellers are looking beyond established hotspots and traditional definitions of budget and luxury as consumers reconsider when they travel, where they go, how they allocate their budget and which tools they use to make decisions. 

Captify (part of Verve), the leader in Intent Intelligence, analysed UK search and conversational AI intent to identify the trends influencing travel demand: 

• The shoulder season is challenging the traditional summer peak: Travel intent for autumn increased 670% year-on-year, with September searches up 112%, October up 36% and November up 13%. This suggests more UK travellers are looking beyond peak summer periods in favour of milder weather, quieter destinations and better value.
• Emerging destinations are taking demand from established hotspots: AI is contributing to discovery by steering price-conscious travellers towards less established alternatives, as searches for some traditional destinations decline. For example, searches for Kotor grew 48% alongside a 20% decline for Dubrovnik. AI search engines are actively fuelling this shift, recommending Kotor as a high-value alternative in 22% of responses discussing Dubrovnik.
• From easyJet-to-five-star – travellers are mixing budget transport with premium accommodation: The old distinction between budget and luxury travel is becoming less clear. 64% of dynamic packages combine a low-cost flight with a four- or five-star hotel, while package intent rose 298% and premium hotel searches increased 31%. There’s an opportunity to now target consumers around total trip value rather than assuming low-cost flyers also want low-cost accommodation.    
• AI is becoming a travel inspiration engine: Inspiration and ideation account for 28% of travel-related AI prompts, double last year’s share, while a further 25% of queries focus on considerations including timing, trip duration and local experiences. Travellers are increasingly asking AI to shape an itinerary or recommend where to go rather than simply confirm a destination they have already chosen. 
  

"Search demonstrates consumer behaviour, but AI is increasingly driving it, acting as a co-pilot when it comes to holiday planning and logistics," said Jane Wolfson, president UK & international at Captify (part of Verve). "In the meantime, travellers are also becoming more flexible about when they go, where they stay and how they spend. That means brands need to look beyond established audiences, destinations and seasonal peaks to identify where demand is emerging and what is driving those decisions."

Please download the insights to learn more: link

Captify

Captify, part of Verve, enables brands to understand, activate, and measure real-time intent across the entire consumer journey, thanks to its proprietary search intent dataset. Leveraging over 15 years of machine learning expertise, Captifys's...

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