Holiday & Travel Brand Index 2019 Q2

Please note: This is not the most recent Brand Index. If you’re right where you want to be, read on. If you’re looking for the latest data, click here for our most recent Brand Indexes. 

The Attest Brand Index is a platform agnostic measure of a brand’s total brand equity in the Sports sector, as determined by real consumers.

What does that mean?

When we say ‘Platform Agnostic’, we mean the results are not influenced by any particular method of obtaining them, like looking exclusively at social media mentions or at brand search terms. This reduces bias and gives us a much more accurate view of a brand’s strength in their category.

Learn more about why we think this is the best methodology for Brand Intelligence.

For the Holiday & Travel Brand Index, we look at three things:

• Percentage of unprompted brand recall within the Holiday & Travel category
• How likely a person is to purchase your particular brand (Purchase Intent)
• How likely a person is to recommend your brand (Net Promoter Score)

Our data is gathered every quarter from a nationally representative survey to 1,000 UK consumers aged 18-65.

To jump straight to our 2019 Holiday & Travel Brand Index Report, click here.

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Key Changes in Brand Attributes

Spring is in full swing and summer holidays are edging closer. Whether Brits are looking for an adventure in a far-flung land, or keeping their fingers crossed for sunshine on their staycation, they need the help of brands when booking their travel. In an industry that moves with the seasons, we think there might have been some shake ups in the travel market in the last 3 months.

Each quarter we ask consumers to rank the top 10 holiday and travel brands in eight category-specific attributes. Here are the main winners, losers and movers this quarter:

• Tripadvisor enter the leaderboard in a strong position. They’re clearly well-loved, taking top spot for five of the eight attributes, to be crowned the most reliable, convenient, and trustworthy brand with a winning online presence and the best variety on the market.
• The other top spots are won by Jet2 who, according to consumers, offer the best customer service, price and most memorable branding. Expedia, First Choice and Booking.com all won top place in at least one attribute last quarter, but have been ousted by Tripadvisor and Jet2 this time around.
• The range of brands taking bottom place position is also increasingly narrow. Whereas Thomas Cook, Virgin, Trivago, easyJet and First Choice took a handful of low scores each in Q1, six of the last place positions are shared between TUI and Thomas Cook in Q2. TUI have a particularly bumpy landing as they’re brought down to earth, with the lowest weighted rankings for reliability, convenience, customer service and trust. Despite being the most recalled brand of the whole sector, it seems that they’re not sitting at the front of consumers’ minds for the right reasons.

Key Takeaways

• While TUI and Thomas Cook retain their first and second place positions, they lose votes in almost all key metrics. It may not be a dramatic drop in any one result, but over the course of a year this trend could spell worrying times for the two biggest travel brands in the UK.
• First Choice packed their bags and moved out of the leaderboard, swiftly replaced by Tripadvisor. The review and booking site enters the leaderboard in respectable 8th position, with British Airways and easyJet sliding down to the very bottom of the leaderboard from their comfortable 6th and 8th positions last quarter.
• The breadth of sectors represented this quarter continues to show a growing travel market in the UK. From all-inclusive package providers, to airlines and even review websites, it’s a market where competition to keep consumers on side is particularly tough. Heritage brands including British Airways and Thomas Cook compete for market share with more modern competitors including Trivago and Tripadvisor. The success of marketplace brands, such as Booking.com, Trivago and Expedia, signals a conscious decision by Brits to hunt out the best prices available. Consumers really are king in this competitive environment, and their purse strings are held tightly.

The Full Report

The report includes:

• The UK’s leading Holiday & Travel brands for Awareness, Purchase Intent and Net Promoter Score
• Overall Brand Strength and Total Brand Equity index
• Industry averages and market dynamics
• Key takeaways for the UK Holiday & Travel industry

The report is based on a nationally representative survey of 1000 people in the UK (aged 18+), surveyed in January 2019.

Click to view research