One wonders, sometimes, just what behavior the British travel trade has not surveyed, measured or incorporated into the way they package and promote their travel products. Another example of such is the survey that the villa holiday tour operator Villa Plus recently conducted of 1,000 British travelers to find out whether they overpack for a holiday and which items they are most likely to take as extra.
What they found out is interesting, and might even be useful. Here are some survey results:
—Three out of five (60 percent) Brits overpack for their holidays,
—Not surprisingly the top thing we pile in is clothes, followed by shoes, toiletries, makeup and books.
—Just under 8 percent of holidaymakers go big with gadgets, while
—6.6 admit to bringing too much food and drink from home.
—Handbags and hair accessories also make the list.
As for gender:
—Women are more likely to overpack with 67 percent doing so,
—More than half (52 percent) of men do
—However, men will take more books (15 percent vs 6.5 percent for women) and gadgets (16 percent vs. 3 percent) than they will require for their holiday.
When it comes to age:
—18-to-24-year-olds are the worst, with 75 percent admitting that they do so on every holiday.
—Nearly all of those aged 65+ surveyed (98 percent) admitted that they overpack clothing for every holiday.
—The worst for overpacking toiletries are 25-34 year-olds (47 percent)
—Those 55-64 are the worst for overpacking shoes (42.4 percent).
Items that British travelers tend to overpack also include the following:
– Toiletries, 4 items
– Makeup, 5 items
– Clothing, 6 items
– Shoes, 3 pairs
– Books, 3 items
– Gadgets, 3 items
– Handbags, 2 items
– Hairdryer/straightener, 2 items
– Food/drink, 5 items
All totaled, the goods amount to 3 million items, including such food items such as Heinz Tomato Ketchup, vinegar, Hellman’s Mayonnaise, Cadbury’s Chocolate and, of course, tea bags.
Simon Lifford, head of sales and marketing for Villa Plus, came across as non-judgmental as he commented on the findings: “Overpacking can make us feel more reassured-knowing we have packed for every eventuality-however it’s worth always checking how much baggage allowance you have and weighing your case before you set off to avoid additional charges.”
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(INBOUND is a service of Connect Travel, which will be at booth 2235 at IPW in Anaheim. Stop by and pay us a visit!)
