Travel column with Katie Butler of Total Travel: Are more of us choosing to travel outside the school holiday rush?
If it feels like everyone you know is suddenly travelling at different times of the year, you are definitely not imagining it.
New figures show that us Brits are changing not just where we go on holiday but when we go too – and Spain is a great example of this shift.
Spain welcomed 19.1 million UK visitors in 2025, which is up 4.4 per cent on the year before. That’s a huge number but what is also interesting is that summer travel has started to level out. Between June and September, visitor numbers were only slightly up on last year and almost exactly the same as in 2019. Instead, more people are choosing to travel in the quieter (or of course better priced) months.
From October to December, UK visitor numbers to Spain rose by nearly three per cent compared to the previous year and were almost 15 per cent higher than before the pandemic.
The Spanish Tourist Office has been quite open about encouraging this, saying the focus is not just on volume anymore, but on year-round travel and sustainability. For holidaymakers, that often means fewer crowds, better prices and much more comfortable temperatures – especially in popular resorts and cities.
Total Travel are definitely seeing this change reflected in bookings too. May was the top-selling month last week, making up 12 per cent of all bookings, followed by March and April at ten per cent each.
Late bookings are also on the rise, accounting for nearly a quarter of all sales. Given how cold, wet and grey the weather has been recently, it is no surprise that many people are deciding to escape at the last minute in search of some winter sunshine.
There has also been some genuinely good news for anyone thinking a little further afield. In January, it was announced that British passport holders can now travel to China without a visa for stays of up to 30 days, right through until the end of 2026. This applies to holidays, visiting friends or family, business trips and transit. For longer stays, or for work or study, a visa is still needed – but for many travellers this removes a big barrier and makes planning a trip to China far simpler than it used to be.
Keeping on top of changes like this is a big part of what we do, which brings me neatly to one of my favourite events in the travel calendar. We’re delighted once again to be invited to the annual VIP Travel Agent Conference run by Jet2holidays. It’s a real honour for a small, independent agency in Heckmondwike to be among their top-selling agents. The conference has been moved from December to March 11-13 and will take place in the Costa de la Luz. It has been rescheduled to tie in better with the busy booking period and to give agents a boost ahead of the summer season.
Two of our team will be attending next month and I can’t wait to hear all about it. I’d normally be there myself – but this year I’ll be otherwise occupied, as we’re expecting a new grandchild around the same time and that’s one event I definitely won’t be missing.