Global: What are consumers most likely to do today - plan in advance or look for last-minute travel

Globally consumers are as likely to plan their holidays or short breaks in advance as they are to wait till the last minute to secure exciting deals. Out of the 43 markets surveyed in Global Profiles, roughly a third of global respondents agree (31%) with the statement – “I usually wait for last minute deals rather than planning my holiday or short break in advance”, while a similar proportion (34%) disagree. Global Profiles is YouGov’s newest audience intelligence tool that tracks consumer thoughts, feelings, behaviors and habits, and monitors global trends and media consumption.

When analyzed individually, data reveals that consumers in the MENA region are more likely than global audiences to look for last minute deals when going on a holiday. Morocco (48%) registers the highest proportion of consumers who agree, followed by Saudi Arabia (39%), UAE and Egypt (38% each).

While nearly two in five Indonesians (40%) tend to look for last-minute travel deals, consumers in the rest of the APAC region are less likely to do the same. Japan (15%) and Singapore (19%) register less than two in ten consumers, while Australia records 21% consumers who hunt for those last-minute deals.

Data indicates that Germans are almost twice as likely as global respondents to say they prefer being organized and plan their holidays or short breaks in advance (60%). Britain follows with more than half of consumers (52%) planning ahead of time.

While Americans (33%) are as likely as Canadians (32%) to agree with the statement, more than four in ten Americans disagree (46%) suggesting they would rather plan their holiday in advance. That’s compared to 36% of Canadians.

When further analyzed, data indicates that there isn’t much of an attitudinal difference between global men and women in agreement (31% and 30% respectively). However, in the US, men are 6 points more likely than women to look for last-minute deals (36% vs. 30%).

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Methodology: YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1000+ questions across 43 markets. The data is based on continuously collected data from adults aged 16+ in China and 18+ in other markets. The sample sizes for YouGov Global Profiles will fluctuate over time, however the minimum sample size is always c.1000. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from India and UAE, which use urban representative samples, and China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which use online representative samples. Learn more about Global Profiles.