Young Brits plan big holiday spends this year despite cost of living crisis

Young Brits are planning on spending big on holidays for 2025 despite the cost of living crisis.

New research conducted by Aviva has revealed that nearly half of Gen Z (47 per cent) and Millennials (46 per cent) who plan to go on holiday in the next year, intend to spend more on the breaks than they have before.

While times are tight for a lot of people, clearly getting away from it all is a big priority for many. Aviva’s latest How We Live report found that 83 per cent of UK adults are planning a holiday this year, with both UK and international trips on the horizon. But it could be younger generations leading this increase in holiday spend, with nearly half of Gen Z (47 per cent of 16-27-year-olds) and Millennials (46 per cent of 28-43-year-olds) who plan to travel in 2025 looking to increase their spending on getaways.

Those aged between 25 and 34-years-old, are set to spend significantly more than the national average of £4,000, with a typical overseas holiday budget of £5,400.

In addition, younger travellers also showed a strong enthusiasm for holiday planning, with 58 per cent of 16-24-year-olds having booked overseas trips for the year ahead, in 2024. Younger people are also the most likely to have multiple trips booked with 14 per cent already having arranged three or more holiday abroad, compared to just seven per cent of the general population who plan to take a least three holidays in 2025.

Social media has become a major influence for nearly one in 10 holidaymakers when choosing a destination. Seventeen per cent of Gen Z and 14 per cent of Millennials have made decisions based on their newsfeeds, compared with eight per cent of Generation X (44-59-year-olds) and just three per cent of Baby Boomers (60-78-year-olds).

Younger people are also more likely to book holidays based on places they have seen on popular TV shows. Almost one in 10 of Gen Z decide based on a TV show, compared with just four per cent of Baby Boomers. Brits are really wanting to travel this year, with 66 per cent planning on going abroad this year and 75 per cent preparing for a trip within the UK. Overall, of the 40 per cent of people plan to spend more on holidays this year than they did last year.

In fact, 20 per cent of all travellers had already booked two or more international trips for 2025, before the end of last year. Despite this rise in travel spend, 11 per cent of British holidaymakers still choose never to purchase travel insurance when heading abroad, leaving themselves vulnerable - both financially and from a health point of view - if their trip is cancelled or they require emergency medical care overseas.

However, according to Aviva, the average cost of a cancelled trip exceeds £900, which could cause travellers to be out of pocket due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness or injury.

Carolyn Scott, head of home and travel underwriting at Aviva, commented: "People’s passion for travel is clear. Whether travelling abroad or staying in the UK, people are keen to take a break and it’s heartening to see so many people plan to get away this year.

"Our research indicates roughly an extra two million people in the UK take out travel insurance now compared with five years ago. While it is great to discover more people are opting to take out travel insurance when they book a trip than historically, the number who continue to forgo this remains worryingly high. Travelling without insurance can leave people not knowing how to get assistance, and potentially facing significant medical bills in the event of illness or injury while overseas.

"Even before a trip starts, our figures show the average cost of cancelling a holiday is more than £900 if something unforeseen happens in the lead up. To ensure travellers are properly protected, insurance should be purchased as soon as a trip is booked."