Have you booked your summer holiday? The majority of holidaymakers have yet to book a trip abroad.
A Travel Sentiment Survey by Click & Go Holidays for the first quarter of this year reveals 66% of people have not booked their holiday for 2025.
The findings show that cost is a significant factor in those who have not yet booked their 2025 holiday, as consumers said that either prices are too high or that they are waiting for holiday prices to fall.
There has been a 3% increase on the price of a sun holiday this year compared to last year.
"There are quite a number of people who have not yet booked, but the price increases don't seem to have reflect that. The price has increased over last year by about 3% so it is not a significant increase,". Paul Hackett, CEO of Click&Go, said.
"The pattern is different this year; the consumer behaviour is definitely different this year. The consumer is behaving in a different manner to what you might expect," he told Morning Ireland.
"I think for many this is out of a desire to save money, however, we are not seeing this same hesitance in other European markets so prices are unlikely to drop.
"With the vast majority still planning on travelling this year it could mean limited choice and accommodation availability further down the line."
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Mr Hackett agreed that people might have postponed booking a trip abroad while the weather was fine in Ireland; "I think we know what the weather in Ireland is likely to be, and holidays abroad still reflect really good value for money."
Other factors outside of holiday prices that are affecting bookings are those concerned over the impact of US tariffs on Ireland (6%) and those worried about the cost-of-living crisis in Ireland (7%).
Spain is still the number one destination for Irish holidaymakers with 2 million people expected to travel there this year, despite an anti-tourism sentiment over the housing crisis there, which has been exacerbated by tourists using the likes of Airbnb.
"We are the highest indexing country in the world in terms of head of population that goes to Spain," he said, adding that protests are not affecting bookings to Spain.
The survey also gave further insight into the strong demand for travel in 2025, despite booking delays, with only 2% planning to not take a trip this year.
The coming months are expected to be busy for travel bookings, as 35% of respondents are preparing to reserve their holiday by the end of May and over a quarter are looking to secure their plans in June, July and August.
60% of parents said they would take their children out of school to save on holiday prices.
