Global: Are school holidays a deciding factor when booking a holiday?

Taking a vacation outside of school holidays could mean better deals, cheaper stays and thinner crowds. Data from Global Profiles – an audience intelligence tool with attitudinal and behavioral consumer data across 43 markets – reveals that more than a third of those with no, or over-school-age children, target vacations outside of school holidays (37%).

Significantly more than half of this segment of consumers in Switzerland (55%), Hong Kong (54%) and Great Britain (52%) say that they are more likely to travel outside school holidays. Slightly fewer but still almost 50% of these consumers in South Africa (49%) also tend to book their vacations outside of school holidays.

Around four in ten consumers from Egypt (40%) agree with the statement suggesting that they consciously look for vacation time outside of school holidays. Slightly fewer but still over a third of consumers in UAE (37%) and Saudi Arabia (36%) say likewise.

Singapore (45%), Indonesia (45%) and Malaysia (44%) are the other Asian markets which outpace the average of global respondents who agree with the statement. On the other hand, among all the markets surveyed, Japan (21%) and Vietnam (23%) are the two countries least likely to agree with the statement. Japan along with China, are the markets most likely to be on the fence with around half the population picking ‘neither agree nor disagree’ (52% and 51% respectively).

Globally, nearly two in five overall consumers are neutral on the matter (39%). This could suggest that these consumers decide their travel dates based on their own convenience rather than school schedules. Markets in South America are most likely to be on the fence as they tread on similar lines to global respondents. Brazil (45%) registers 6 points more than global consumers, followed by Argentina (41%). Slightly fewer consumers in Colombia (36%) pick ‘neither agree nor disagree’.

In North America, while nearly a third of consumers either agree or are on the fence about the statement, a substantial proportion of consumers disagree too. Over a quarter of consumers in US (29%), Mexico (28%) and Canada (26%) don’t book their vacations outside of school holidays, even though they are not restricted by school schedules.

Poland is most likely of all markets to disagree with the statement, registering nearly twice the share of global respondents (24%). Half of Poland’s population (50%) says they do not tend to book holidays outside of school holidays. Other European countries register a quarter of their consumers disagreeing with the statement.

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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.