The number of UK travellers who booked a holiday with a travel professional has dropped in the past year, according to research unveiled today at the Travel Convention in Calvià, Mallorca.
ABTA’s Holiday Habits Report 2025-2026 reveals that 34% of holidaymakers booked a trip with a travel professional – defined as an agent or an operator – in the last 12 months. This was down from 38% in 2024, but in line with 2023.
However, ABTA said the decrease ‘isn’t a cause for concern’ as the percentage of holidaymakers booking with a travel professional has remained broadly similar over the past three to five years.
The report also reveals 8% of holidaymakers use AI for holiday inspiration, double the number last year. “We would expect to see people using AI for inspiration to double again as more technology comes down the line,” said ABTA Director of Communications Graeme Buck.
Some 43% of the 2,100 respondents to the Holiday Habits survey said they’d feel confident in letting an AI tool plan their holiday, with 38% saying they would allow AI to book for them.
TUI UK & Ireland Managing Director Neil Swanson described the use of AI in the next 10 years as a ‘critical factor’ that will create a ‘seismic shift’ in travel.
During a panel discussion with Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy, Neil said: “I don’t think you can overstate how important that’s going to be and how it’s going to shape things going forward, especially within businesses that will look to become more efficient at how they can do more for less.”
Steve also acknowledged that the adoption of AI will become a bigger part of the customer booking process, with holidaymakers knowing more about a destination and prices because of the internet and AI search tools.
But he said that, even if more customers use AI in the future, ‘retail still has a really important part’ in the travel industry.
He said: “[Retail] is not going away anytime soon in my view because of that group of customers who value retailers and are used to technology. They [customers] still want to go in and look someone in the eye when they’re booking. They value that trust element.”
Steve said agents do a ‘fantastic job’, adding: “I speak to quite a lot of them, and some of the things they do for people and return people is amazing. They have highly trained staff. They are the people who know about the product to build excitement and anticipation to really make the customer think ‘wow’ this person knows what they’re talking about.
“Agents have to justify their margin, particularly given the rise of technology.”
The ABTA research revealed confidence in booking through a travel professional increased by five percentage points year-on-year, up to 41%, making it the joint second reason people book with a travel professional.
Other top reasons to book with a travel professional included ease of booking, helping clients get value for money and having access to expert help and advice.
Just over a fifth (22%) revealed they had a better holiday when using a travel professional, a figure that climbed to 30% among 18 to 24-year-olds.
Holiday spending also remains a priority for Brits, with only 28% of respondents saying they will cut back on spending on holidays to cover the day-to-day costs of living. This is the lowest figure seen over the past five years.
Graeme Buck said: “This comes as 34% said they’ll spend more on their holiday next year, with 15% saying they’ll spend less and the remainder saying they will spend about the same.
“There’s a big chunk at 38% saying they will spend more because they think that holidays will cost more, with 49% planning to go on more holidays as they’re spending less on holidays.”
He said almost a quarter (23%) will cut back on their holiday spend by downgrading on accommodation.
Of those surveyed, 71% of people are already planning to go abroad next year, up from 68% last year. Of those, 46% have already booked a holiday. Popular destinations include Spain, France, Italy, the US and Greece.
In the coming year, 15% of respondents indicated they would take a cruise, up from 12% who took a cruise in the last 12 months. According to the research, 19% of those who went on a cruise were aged between 24-35, while 16% were aged 65 and over.
