French holidaymakers seek budget food, Italians have the most sex with strangers, the Spanish splash their cash, Indian women eat fast food, the Swiss loathe topless sunbathing and sustainability and eco-tourism are most important to Swedes. These are just some of the stark cross-cultural behavioural differences highlighted between 12 disparate markets when on holiday. They are explored in leading tour operator Kuoni’s Global Holiday Report on behaviour before, during and after a trip. Twelve markets, 21 questions, hundreds of answers from over 12 000 people have filled the company’s first ever Global Holiday Report.

The report unlocks sizzling facts about holidaymakers’ love lives while away from home, about the detailed preparation before a holiday, how eating habits change and dress sense relaxes, how some try out different personas and overall what the impact of a holiday is once home. It reinforces how a break from everyday life can broaden horizons and change behaviour.

‘Many respondents like to be someone different on holiday,” observes British psychotherapist and writer Christine Webber. ‘It’s as if getting away allows people to experiment with a different persona and to ‘try it on for size’.”

What holidaymakers eat on holiday points up other national differences. ‘The price for my culinary welfare during my holiday is of no importance to me,” says René Schudel, chef, restaurateur and host of the Swiss TV show, Funky Kitchen Club. While Norwegians and Swedes tend to agree with him, French and Italians watch their pennies when it comes to eating out, reveals Kuoni’s Global Holiday Report 2011.

Does good dress sense disappear out the hotel window when on holiday? Swiss and German economist, philosopher and writer Philipp Tingler believes so. ‘Wearing too few clothes, the wrong perception of casual and excessive assimilation are the three most common mistakes in choosing a holiday wardrobe,” he says.  The report highlights that Indian holidaymakers dress more provocatively (25%), the French dress down (55%) and Brits wear less (15%) when ‘abroad” – and Italians are voted as top ‘fashionistas” (33%).

Holidaymakers aged 25-65 were asked about what they eat and drink, what they wear, how they prepare, what they enjoy and whom they make friends with. The results point up interesting differences between nationalities and surprising facts about what a holiday can do for individuals and couples, men and women or different age groups.
Having been in the business for over 100 years, Kuoni tries to get under the skin of the typical holidaymaker, and taps into these trends on an annual basis. Such surveys are part of the company’s philosophy of getting closer to its customers as well as understanding the psychology and behaviour of travellers before, during and after the holiday.

‘As one of the leading broad-based global travel service providers, Kuoni has always been at the forefront of introducing and shaping travel trends,” says Peter Rothwell, CEO of the Kuoni Group. ‘Kuoni’s Global Holiday Report 2011 showcases interesting insights about the behaviour of travellers across the globe. This underlines our initiatives to further extend our services and to develop our know-how to be the ‘Trusted Advisor’ and ‘Destination Insider’ by understanding customers’ deep seated wants and needs from a holiday. The report also provides an ideal way to help us fulfil those needs with passion on the spot and can assist us in developing new ways of travelling, too.”

Kuoni’s Global Holiday Report 2011 is also available online at: www.kuoni.com/holidayreport.

SURVEY CREDENTIALS
Some 12 117 holidaymakers were interviewed from Benelux, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK (in the Nordic countries, Kuoni is operating under the brand Apollo). The independent research was carried out by Opinion Matters between November and December 2010.

LAUNCH EVENT INFORMATION
Kuoni’s Global Holiday Report 2011 was launched on 9 March 2011 at the ITB in Berlin and discussed in-depth by a panel of international experts. They were: Christine Webber – writer, broadcaster and psychotherapist from London, Philipp Tingler – Swiss and German writer, journalist, economist and philosopher and René Schudel – chef, restaurateur, culinary explorer and TV host of the show ‘Funky Kitchen Club” in Switzerland.