Holiday ideas come from TV shows, not Instagram

While choosing where to go on a holiday, British travellers are still influenced by TV and not social media channels like Instagram.

New research also shows that social media influencers and bloggers on sites such as Instagram are in decline as a source of holiday inspiration.

The latest revelations will be of great interest to the industry, and were revealed in the recent survey of 2,000 UK adults by creative and media agency eight&four, which works with a wide range of travel and leisure brands.

Only seven per cent of UK holidaymakers said Instagram was their main source of ideas when thinking about travel. By comparison, TV programmes and movies are one of the biggest sources of inspiration for travellers (25% say so, rising to 31% of millennials and 29% of Gen Z).

However, only 14% of Brits are influenced by traditional TV adverts and only 10% look to social media adverts as their main source for ideas.

While the figures are unfortunate for social media, millennials are still engaged by the likes of Instagram and Snapchat. A fifth (20%) of travellers aged 25-35 say that social media influencers are their main source of travel inspiration, but the figure plummeted to just 7% among Gen Z.

Age divide

It’s a similar story for social media advertising. Only 23% of millennials said it influenced them but only 9% of Gen Z, demonstrating the growing divide amongst these two youth audiences and their use of social.

Caroline Brosnan, head of marketing at eight&four, said: “Netflix and other streaming sites present a wealth of programming content that showcases desirable locations.

“Consumers of all ages are tuning in and feeling inspired to travel to these places. It suggests travel brands should consider more innovative ways of using TV shows to reach mass audiences, whether that’s through product placement or editorial.”

The research also showed the increasing influence of physical media and ‘real people’. Gen Z is driving this trend, as 29% of those aged 18-24 look to their friends and family for holiday ideas and 20% use physical brochures. When booking a holiday, 27% of Gen Z believe face-to-face travel agents are more personal.

The biggest source of inspiration overall for UK consumers is online reviews, with a quarter (26%) using tips and recommendations from others to inform their own plans. The least popular source was radio, chosen by only 6% of holidaymakers.