Elegant Resorts reports ‘significant’ shift in habits of high-end travellers

Elegant Resorts has highlighted a “significant shift” in travellers’ habits in its summer booking trends report, documenting a change in booking patterns and a £3,500 increase in average holiday value.

The report found that clients are “more mindful” of how they’re spending their money and seeking better value with long-haul destinations such as Dubai and the Caribbean. However, the operator has seen its average booking value increase from £19,500 in 2024 to £23,000.

The report also highlighted shortened lead times for this summer, with 15% of enquiries made in June for holidays to Europe departing the same month, 40% in July and August and 20% in September.

However, bookings for 2026 are up 18% compared with this time last year for 2025 departures.

Other trends noted in the report include an increased number of people going away outside the school holidays, a 68% year-on-year increase in long-haul travel and growing demand for multigenerational holidays and group bookings. This type of booking represents 26% of sales so far this summer, marking an increase from 19% last year.

Villa enquiries have risen by 60% when compared to the same time last year, with half of them relating to the Caribbean and 30% to Europe.

Elegant Resorts’ top five destinations for 2025 are Barbados, the Maldives, Greece (pictured), Spain and Antigua.

Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Kenya and Australia are also among top-performing destinations, each up by more than 200% versus 2024. Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and French Polynesia are also reported to be performing well.

The operator’s managing director, Gordon McCreadie, said: “Booking patterns have been evolving over the past few years, but we are seeing quite a shift for 2025.

“People are swapping the traditional European summer for longer-haul destinations, September departures and a range of new experiences replacing the usual beach holiday. A range of factors come into play including availability, air fares, extreme weather conditions and overcrowding.

“We have worked hard at expanding our offering worldwide over the past few months so we can keep on delighting our clients and help them create those special memories.”

Picture credit: Shutterstock/Littleaom