Diy Or Travel Agent How Do You Travel

Here at hoppa we're obsessed with travel, you know this...Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.So, we asked one simple question to start: How do you do it? Naturally, followed by a few more questions depending on the original answer...The aim here was to find out if people preferred the flexibility and choice of being able to build-their-own DIY holiday with the risk of getting it wrong, or whether they preferred to be in the safe, knowledgeable hands of an expert, even if it meant paying a little more for it.

Under 35's are the most likely age group to opt for a DIY Holiday.

Is it that youthful exuberance that fuels the care-free attitude? Or is it the lack of life's (more unfortunate) experiences which ensure they have the confidence to build their own package? Either way, our results were conclusive. 90% of under 35's we asked are up for a DIY Holiday.

The 'High Street Travel Agent' is a very unpopular place for under 45's...

Is it a cultural shift, or an age thing? Whichever, it seems that the younger the audience, the less likely they were to use a Travel Agent. A really interesting fact for so many reasons! The answers tended to suggest that 45 was the age in which the average holidaymaker changed opting for thriftiness, and instead, opted for convenience. There were a heap of reasons why people opted for one over the other, but this age is the magical number where the preference changes from one to another.Reasons for choosing DIY?

• Flexibility to select own itinerary.
• Being able to search for cheapest prices.
• Not paying excessive commission.
• No pressure from Travel Agents.

Reasons for choosing a Travel Agent?

• Lack of confidence (with online booking etc.)
• Convenience - getting it done for you.
• Security - knowing it's safe.

Convenience is more influential than fear when it comes to booking.

When asking those who preferred booking via travel agents why they didn't choose DIY many people quoted 'anxiety', 'security' and 'fear' (of getting it wrong). This was however, greatly outweighed by those giving their reasoning as booking via DIY as 'hassle', 'stressful' that booking with an Agent was generally 'easier'.So why book DIY? And why not?

The over 60's rule the High Street.

Over half of people aged over 60 frequently use High Street and Online Travel Agents to book their breaks away. 55% never opt for DIY and prefer the security of knowing their holiday plans are all taken care of.

Senior's are doing their bit to keep the high street alive.

9% of people booked their holidays whilst at work...

Okay, it's a relatively small percentage - but still, I wonder if their bosses know? This certainly is another advantage of going for DIY It's certainly easier to sneakily book a trip away from your desk than it is to call the Travel Agent whilst at work... Not that we're at all suggesting that... In fact, we wonder if these people filled out this survey whilst at work too?

And the winner is...

Thank you to everyone who filled in our survey, we wouldn't have this article without you! The lucky respondent who wins the star prize of a Go Pro Hero 4 is...Thanks! We'll be in touch soon to organise getting your prize out to you so that you can take lots of great photos on your next traveling adventure!Not all those who wander are lost.

1. Gender:
   • Female - 53%
   • Male - 47%
2. How old are you?
   • 61+ - 34%
   • 46-60 - 33%
   • 17-34 - 21%
   • 35-45 - 12%
   • <16 - 0%
3. Which booking option do you most often use for your trip?
   • DIY - 65%
   • Online Travel Agent - 23%
   • High Street Agent -12%
4. What's the most important advantage about booking DIY? (Only asked to those who answered 'DIY' in Q3)
   • Flexibility to book own itinerary - 49%
   • Ensuring value for money - 34%
   • Freedom to book any accommodation - 7%
   • Satisfaction of booking process - 6%
   • Convenience to book 24/7 - 3%
   • Other - 0%
5. What's the most important advantage when booking via an agent? (Asked to anyone who didn't choose 'DIY' to Q3).
   • Having it organised for you - 42%
   • Getting support and assistance - 28%
   • Affordability/Price - 17%
   • Getting professional advice and recommendations - 14%
   • Other - 0%
6. How far in advance do you book your trip?
   • 2-6 months - 50%
   • 6 months - 1 year - 26%
   • 1 month - 18%
   • 1 week - 4%
   • Over 1 year - 1%
   • I don't make the booking - 0%
7. Where do you most often book your travel (Only asked to those who answered 'DIY' to Q3).
   • At home - 90%
   • At work - 9%
   • Whilst commuting - 1%
   • Lunch break - 0%
   • Other - 0%

N.B. There were also three 'free-text' questions which yielded a large amount of text answers. These were what was used to build the word clouds used in the article above. These questions were:

• Why do you prefer DIY to Travel Agent? (Asked to those who answered 'DIY' to Q3 above).
• Why don't you book DIY? (Asked to those who answered 'OTA/High Street' to Q3 above).
• If you could change one thing about booking with a Travel Agent, what would it be? (Asked to those who answered 'OTA/High Street' to Q3 above).

Data capture questions for competition have been excluded from results.