According to leading provider of unsecured consumer loans, Ferratum UK Ltd, the UK will spend over a third (33.5%) of their monthly disposable household income, or nearly £650 (or €896) on foreign travel.
In its latest ‘European Summer Barometer’, a pan-European survey that looked at holiday spending habits, results showed that, together with the Netherlands, nearly 1 in 5 (17%) of us Brits will spend their summer holidays by travelling abroad, presumably to escape the typical British summer weather and seek out the sun!
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What’s more, a further 18% of us will still choose to holiday at home this summer, proving that the ‘staycation’ craze, made popular following the recession, is still very much top of families’ minds when it comes to choosing their annual holiday destination.
Furthermore, when other plans for summer social activities (visiting restaurants, the theatre etc.) and family events (weddings, parties etc.) are included, nearly two thirds of us (59%) are either holidaying or socialising this summer.
Mark Cawood, country manager, Ferratum UK explained: “Holidays are really important to all of us. Our annual fortnight away doesn’t just give us all the chance to experience new food and cultures, while hopefully getting a bit of sun, they also give us that well-earned break and a chance to escape from our fast-paced modern lives.
“However, although we all need to take a break, it’s important that we don’t overstretch ourselves financially on what can be a significant annual cost to the average household budget. With the majority of respondents spending between £800 and £1,499 while on holiday, we all need to be responsible and sensible with our money, especially in these times of relative financial uncertainty.
“It’s good to see therefore that when respondents were asked how they would finance their summer holiday, over a quarter of them (27.51%) said that they did not need any extra finance and nearly three quarters (73.64%) would have paid back their summer holiday and short term lending expenses within three months.”
Across Europe, the survey indicates that things are looking brighter for families than they did 12 months ago. Nearly a third (30%) of European households are planning to spend more on their holiday this summer than they did a year ago, while 40% will keep their spending on par with summer 2014.
What’s more, the survey highlighted some surprising differences in holiday spending between countries. With the exception of Spain, the top holiday spenders are all former East European nations. These countries spend over the average (47%) household disposable income on summer holidays.
Mark Cawood continued: “Even though we spend around 33.5% of our household income on summer holidays, in Eastern-European countries, relative holiday spending is much larger than in the west.
“ According to the European Summer Barometer, Estonia and Latvia sit at the very top of that list with a holiday spend (relative to household income) of over 60% (Estonia €629, Latvia €621). At the other end of the table we find Denmark and Germany, who spend the least on their summer holidays (27% and 28 % respectively.) They are closely followed by The Nordic countries and the UK to complete the trend of Western European countries being the more conservative summer holiday spenders this year.”
Ferratum Group, an international pioneer in financial technology and mobile lending, asked its customers in 17 European countries to look at their spending behaviour during the summer holiday season. A total of 5,685 middle-class households completed the survey about how much they spend, and where they spend it. Respondents were aged 21-65 and 60% were women. The average available net income of participating households was €720 – €3,800.
Ferratum Group’s chief analytics officer, Marko Tuominen, added: “The Barometer is an exceptional tool to evaluate the changes in consumer behaviour across Europe. The Group has over one million customers who represent an even proportion of all middle-class age groups of the 22 countries in which the group operates globally. This creates an exceptional opportunity to study and compare changes in consumer behaviour between different countries. The information gathered is well founded and extremely beneficial for the Group in developing its services.”
In addition to demographic factors, respondents were also asked about their disposable monthly net income, how much they spend on summer holidays, on which summer activities they spend their money, how much holiday shopping they do online, and how soon the respondents expected to regain financial balance after the summer holidays.
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Focusing on organic growth, further geographic expansion and additional product portfolio development we are committed to our vision of creating a leading mobile bank.
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Our mission is to provide the best consumer interface for loan processes and 24/7 personal customer service accessible through mobile devices, the internet or our partners. Such a mission statement can only be accomplished through simple and hassle-free product applications, fast and transparent loan processes, providing confidential transactions and keeping our customers’ data safe while providing consumer financing with fixed and transparent costs.
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Professionalism, profitability and clear ethics are our core values.
Professionalism means continuous learning, a clear operations model and taking responsibility for our actions.
Profitability is the result of speed, flexibility and growth. Ferratum has continuously grown since it was founded in 2005 and reached sustainable profitability early on. We are committed to further grow profitability in the future.
Ethics is a focus on how we treat other people, especially our customers. Ethics are about what we consider right and what we require of ourselves and our counterparts. We take personal responsibility for our customers and stakeholders in making decisions and are committed to openness and transparency in all dealings. We believe ethical principles are important to create trust and loyalty among our customers and employees.
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