Holidaymakers are becoming less satisfied with the value for money offered by package holidays, according to research announced yesterday.
In 1998, 57% of holidaymakers rated their trip "very good value", but the figure has now slipped to 53%, according to pollsters Mori.
Yet 85% of those who had taken a package holiday were certain or very likely to take another in the next 12 months, said Bob Worcester, chairman of Mori.
The increasing importance of the internet in booking holidays was underlined by statistics showing that bookings via travel agents are at their lowest since figures started to be collected in 1990.
The survey also reflected the growth of budget airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair with 30% of respondents saying they had flown with a low-cost carrier in the last two years.
Only 4% of holidaymakers rated their package fairly poor value or very poor value - compared with 9% four years ago.
Mr Worcester said the travel industry needed to adapt to changing demographics. By 2030, elderly single women will be the largest group in Britain and holiday firms will have to devise new ways of servicing that market, he said.
"We have an ageing population. We also have fewer married couples, more couples working, and more mobility which is leading to more traffic and a desire to get away from it all."
