A lot has happened over the last five years, but with the cost of living crisis deepening, what impact is this having on Brits’ holiday choices?

At goodtrip, we’ve taken a look at Google search data from the last five years to find out how holiday destination choices have been impacted by the rising cost of living. 

Our study found that searches for ‘Turkey holidays’ had increased by a massive 199% since 2017, rising from 34,588 to over 103,000 each month.

 

Turkey’s huge increase in searches saw the Maldives, which was the number one most searched for holiday destination in 2017, displaced to fourth position. When looking at the cost of a week long all inclusive holiday for two, it’s clear to see Brits are opting for cheaper alternatives.

A week at a four star hotel in the Maldives will set you back close to £4,000 (£3,871), while a week in Turkey is just over £1,000 (£1,051)

Holidays to Egypt are now a lot more popular than they were five years ago, with monthly searches increasing by 112% from 9,570 to more than 20,000.

The amount of people searching for holidays in Greece has increased by 84%, again much cheaper than the likes of the Maldives, while the amount of people searching for holidays to Jamaica is up by 53%.

In terms of holiday destinations that have fallen out of favour, Malta saw the biggest drop in monthly searches with around a third fewer people searching for holidays on the Mediterranean island - monthly searches fell from 35,578 to 23,605. Searches for holidays in Bulgaria fell from 18,523 to 13,742 (26%) while searches for breaks in Switzerland were down 17%.

Most popular holiday destinations in 2022 according to Google (monthly searches)

  1. Turkey - 103,282 
  2. Greece - 87,540
  3. Dubai - 54,864
  4. Maldives - 54,698
  5. Mexico - 49,937
  6. Cyprus - 33,311
  7. Bali - 31,744
  8. Portugal - 31,552
  9. Spain - 30,394
  10. Malta - 23,605

Most popular holiday destinations in 2017 according to Google (monthly searches)

  1. Maldives - 59,510
  2. Greece - 47,693
  3. Dubai - 45,717
  4. Malta - 35,578
  5. Mexico - 35,443
  6. Turkey - 34,588
  7. Cyprus - 33,195
  8. Spain - 30,499
  9. Portugal - 30,486
  10. Bali - 26,982

Commenting on the research, Danny Sullivan, founder of goodtrip.co.uk, said:

“There are so many different factors to consider when it comes to booking a holiday, and it’s really interesting to see which destinations have become more popular over the last few years. Turkey can be a great value destination with guaranteed good weather, which might go a long way to explaining it’s rise in popularity since 2017. It will be interesting to see how the cost of living crisis impacts holidays further as we move into 2023.”

*Analysis of Google Search data by goodtrip.co.uk using AH Refs, carried out in August 2022.