From packing your own tea bags to only being able to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you in the local language…
Researchers from Lyca Mobile polled the nation and revealed a host of very British holiday traits, including arriving at the airport four hours before your flight, just to be on the safe side (56 percent), packing your own tea bags (53 percent), and only being able to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in the local language (43 percent). A further 39 percent say that queuing patiently at the gate is a classic British thing, while texting a family member to let them know that you ‘landed safely’ is on the agenda for 48 percent.
This, along with checking the weather forecast (45 percent) and finding directions to local landmarks or restaurants (also 45 percent), means that 53 percent of respondents agree they couldn’t go away without their phone. Concerns about not being able to access boarding passes (42 percent) or online banking (39 percent) also contribute to phones being deemed ‘a lifeline’ when away by 33 percent of those polled.
As a result, a third (32 percent) have run up a huge holiday phone bill, costing an average of £118.
Having had to pay a whopping bill, two thirds (63 percent) say they now log on to the hotel Wi-Fi when using their phone to avoid roaming charges, with a further 49 percent only using their phone when absolutely necessary.
James McQuillan, UK & Ireland Country Manager at Lyca Mobile:
“When it comes to the nation’s holiday habits, it’s perhaps no surprise our research defines traits such as arriving at the airport early, queuing at the gate and texting home to say we’ve landed safely as classically British. But it is outrageous that, at £118, our very British holiday phone bills might now cost as much as our flights. Holidaymakers should not have to worry about connectivity coming at a cost, which is why Lyca Mobile continues to include EU roaming in all of its plans.”
The poll also found that nine in ten (94 percent) agree that there are certain traits that are quintessentially British on holiday, with 56 percent going a step further and admitting that they worry about being thought of as a Brit abroad.
Four in ten (46 percent) prefer to think of themselves as a traveller, rather than a tourist (54 percent), with over half (57 percent) saying they wouldn’t dream of getting up early and putting a towel on a sun lounger. Being on holiday doesn’t detach people from their social media, though, with a quarter (26 percent) using their phone to browse and update their feeds, uploading an average of 18 photos while away. Another 43 percent say they send pictures to family and friends, while 14 percent confess to looking at the local sights through their phone.
When it comes to the things that Brits miss the most about the UK when away, their own pillow (44 percent), proper tea (41 percent), TV shows (35 percent), bacon (24 percent) and cheddar cheese (16 percent) are the items the nation pines most for.
TOP TWENTY QUINTESSENTIALLY BRITISH HOLIDAYMAKER TRAITS, ACCORDING TO BRITS
- Arriving at the airport four hours before your flight, just to be on the safe side – 56%
- Packing your own tea bags – 53%
- Texting a family member to let them know that you ‘landed safely’ – 48%
- Only being able to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you in the local language – 43%
- Queuing patiently at the gate – 39%
- Having a special wallet for your holiday documents – 38%
- Feeling nervous going through security – 33%
- Packing two weeks before the trip – 32%
- Apologising profusely to the passenger next to you when you need the loo – 30%
- Enjoying a full English at the airport – 27%
- Declaring loudly ‘feel that heat’ as soon as you step off the plane – 27%
- Despite wearing factor 50 you still have a burnt forehead – 25%
- Checking if everyone has been to the loo before boarding the plane – 25%
- Organising a dedicated holiday WhatsApp group – 19%
- The urge to get off the plane as quickly as possible – 19%
- Battling to find the best place to pick up your bags from the luggage belt – 18%
- Taking poolside selfies with the caption ‘never coming home’ – 14%
- Packing a jar of Marmite – 12%
- Being obsessed with positioning of the parasol above your lounger – 12%
- Ending up running for the gate every time – 11%
