Forget luxury long-haul holidays - Romania is now the holiday destination of choice for British drivers. As the credit crunch drives resourceful Brits to swap expensive destinations for cheaper places, international car rental company easyCar.com reports a whopping +540 per cent growth in car rentals in the Eastern European country over the past year.
Also enjoying increasing popularity are Norway (+345 per cent) and Finland (+195 per cent), the Czech Republic (+129% per cent), Portugal (+196 per cent) and Israel (+418 per cent): all proving that people are stretching their imaginations as well as the pound when looking at destinations.
Saturday night take ME away!
Brits may be forced to save cash by staying in on Saturday nights - but we're using the time to book our next break abroad. The easyCar.com survey reveals a third (33 per cent) of all its holiday bookings are being made at 10pm on Saturday nights.
The research also highlights the changing face of the British holiday in the face of the credit crunch - nearly half (45 per cent) admit they won't let the cold economic climate freeze their plans to head to warmer shores. Instead they are adapting plans to fit in with the recession - 43 per cent are planning to opt for cheaper accommodation and travel, and a cheery 40 per cent agree that taking a less luxurious holiday than usual won't affect their enjoyment.
We're also putting more thought into how we source holidays - a massive 84 per cent of us check out deals on up to 10 websites before making a decision on our travel provider, and 79 per cent are using the internet more than a year ago.
easyCar.com CEO Bill Jones comments “While the credit crunch is indeed causing people to think more about how they are spending, it's not dampening the nation's holiday spirit. Instead of seeing customers stall their plans to go away, they're opting for locations that will make their money go further and becoming more adventurous in the process!
“However, at easyCar we also know that people are having to adapt to changing financial circumstances so we're introducing benefits like our refundable cancellation policy* to ensure our customers are ready for whatever the economy has to throw at them!”
Easing the credit crunch a little more, easyCar.com now offers a no cancellation fee policy within seven days of making the booking, as long as the cancellation is made up to 24 hours before your pick up date and time. Outside of this window we now offer you a cancellation option which allows you to cancel your booking (again up to 24 hours before pick up) for 7.50 GBP per rental.
-Ends-
For further information, please contact Susannah Lee (Susannah@brando-world.com), Lisa Hocken (Lisa.hocken@brando-world.com) or call 020 7419 7000.
Notes to Editors
Survey carried out online by Fly Research with a total sample size of 1,001 UK adults. Fieldwork was undertaken on 20-24 October 2008. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
About easyCar.com
easyCar.com was launched in April 2000 by Stelios, founder of easyJet.com and Chairman of the easyGroup. easyCar is now one of the leading international car rental brokers with a worldwide network of more than 2,400 car hire locations in over 60 countries, including the UK, USA, Australia and many countries within Europe, Africa and South America. easyCar offers a wide range of vehicles from super-mini and compact cars to MPV's and luxury cars. In the UK, easyCar also offers Van Hire under the easyVan.com Brand.
*easyCar.com cancellation policy
You can cancel your car hire free of charge within seven days of placing your booking as long as the cancellation is made up to 24 hours before your pick up date and time. Credit card fees are non-refundable. When cancelling more than seven days after making the booking you are not entitled to a refund. However, for just £7.50 per rental, we will continue to offer you the option to cancel your booking up to 24 hours before your pick up date and time.
