Brits Avoid Honeymoon Hanky Panky

3 months ago 19th Mar 13:54

· The younger you are the longer your honeymoon is likely to be

· 18 – 24 year olds are those most likely to book online (48%), spurning traditional methods of the telephone or a travel agent

A measly 21% of lovebirds look to spend this romantic break in bed, celebrating the marriage they so recently enjoyed, in fact honeymooners from Northern Ireland and Central England would prefer to top up their tans instead. Bucking the trend are 18-24 year olds who spend 40% of their time in bed, whilst the 55 – 64 year olds are the least romantic, with only 15% doing this. Other popular honeymoon activity includes sunbathing, sleeping and even reading. Puzzlingly, men questioned on this matter responded that the spent more time in the bedroom than the ladies!

Hey big spender

A third (32%) of honeymooners spent over £1,000 and up to £3,000 on an idyllic holiday. The study shows that 10 years ago honeymoon spend was under £500 for two thirds of people, with nine out of ten spending less than £1,000; these days only 29% of honeymooners look to stretch their money as far as possible by spending £500 on their first holiday as a married couple. 15% of honeymooning couples really push the boat out on the ultimate luxury holiday by spending over £3,000, with 1% splashing out over £10,000!

Honeymooners in Northern Ireland and Wales spend the least on their honeymoons – with over a third spending less than £1,000 on their precious holiday. In contrast happy couples in Central and South East England look to spend over £1,000 on their romantic break.

Dream Destinations – a mutual decision

A beach holiday remains the number one honeymoon choice with nearly half of honeymooners (45%) heading off to the beach – this is followed by a city break (23%), a combination of beach and activity (23%) and an activity holiday coming in at 10%. That said, with 55% of honeymooners looking to buck the traditional, desert island honeymoon holiday – there is a wealth of options available to them.

For eight out of ten honeymooning couples, the destination is a mutual decision. However, bucking the trend are Scottish ladies who prefer to be surprised by their husbands with the honeymoon destination, this is in contrast to brides from the Republic of Ireland – only 7% would let their husbands choose where they spend their precious holiday.

Second Honeymoons

Of the 1,033 respondents, 83% of married couples would jump at the chance to relive their first holiday as a married couple and enjoy a second honeymoon. It is the 65+ age group who were the least likely to go away again, with 38% not looking to relive their honeymoon. For second honeymooners – combination holidays proved much more popular, with a third looking to enjoy both beach and an activity. Over half (56%) would elect to leave the kids at home to enjoy their second honeymoon as a couple – whilst a fifth would like to enjoy their honeymoon as a family.

High street beats online

The high street travel agent is the most popular destination for romantic couples when booking their honeymoon. Over a third (38%) of honeymooners booked their trip via a high street travel agent – the most common method for booking a honeymoon reflecting the desire for personal contact. This was followed by a quarter (25%) who booked online, 23% who booked over the phone and 14% who left it to someone else to book it all for them.

“At MSC Cruises we’re working to ensure that we offer a holiday solution for everyone. This research is helping us further understand the needs of our customers and we can see that increasingly newlyweds are looking for different holidays, with 55% looking for something more than the traditional honeymoon. To meet this need we have launched not only a wedding service, but also a honeymoon one so that couples can enjoy warm Mediterranean hospitality on board our ships, alongside the fantastic scenery of a cruise that travels through beautiful destinations.” Commented Claudia Baino, Managing Director, MSC Cruises UK & Ireland

Further Key Findings:

· A quarter (24%) of honeymooners spend between £1,001 and £3,000 on their holiday

· For 45% of first and second time honeymooners the top honeymoon choice is a beach and sun holiday

· Half of respondents travelled off on their honeymoon 1-2 days after their actual wedding, giving them a couple of days to prepare for a memorable holiday

· 84% chose their honeymoon destination together

· Two weeks is the optimum honeymoon length as chosen by 46% of respondents , whilst the younger you are the longer your honeymoon is

· Silver surfers (65+) and 35 – 44 year olds are the most likely to turn to their travel agents for advice and support when booking their honeymoon.

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