Budgeting travellers are 'downscaling'

As consumers start to feel the effects of the downturn in the economy many people are having to make the tough decision of whether or not they can afford a summer holiday this year.

However, according to the Air Transport Users Council (ATUC) budgeting travellers are deciding against ditching their summer breaks and are instead being more frugal in their bookings.

The council's claims are backed up by a piece of research commissioned by National Express East Coast Trains, which revealed that one in five Brits are choosing not to go on holiday by plane this year.

Not only is this option more environmentally-friendly, it could also work out cheaper.

The research find that holidaymakers have been dissuaded from jetting off abroad by the threat of lost luggage (28 per cent), add-on charges, such as for check-in (27 per cent), and delays boarding at the airport (24 per cent).

A number of travellers specifically cited the chaos that erupted at Heathrow airport earlier this year when British Airways opened the new Terminal 5 facility there.

Despite the fact that only one per cent of Brits were directly affected by that incident, images of 100s of queuing passengers who had their planes delayed, sometimes by days, after a serious baggage mishap have been enough to put holidaymakers off flying.

As a result, more than a third of travellers are deciding to have a holiday on home soil and are crossing their fingers for nice weather.

James Fremantle, industry affairs manager at the ATUC, said: "I think air travel is one of the first things people do cut back on, particularly when there is a recession.

"Some tour operators are actually reporting pretty good numbers, so it looks as if people are just downgrading their holidays. They are still going away, but downgrading from certain holidays to cheaper package holidays."

He added that domestic flights should not be overlooked by holidaymakers, however, as they can be more convenient than trains when travelling from one end of the country to the other.

The Airport Operators Association reports that there has been a 78 per cent increase in the use of airports over the last ten years.

Holidaymakers are making use of regional airports, with 48 per cent flying from their local hub, compared to 39 per cent in 2001.

Mr Fremantle explained that taking a flight to another destination in the UK did not have to be an environmentally-unfriendly decision.

He said: "There is now the opportunity to offset your flights with carbon offset schemes so people might do that instead."

The ATUC has spoken to a number of airlines, including British Airways, who report that these kinds of schemes are increasingly being taken advantage of, although the rate of increase is not phenomenal.

However, as the credit crunch continues to take its toll on holidaymakers' wallets, the council adds that these schemes may suffer.