Beached Males, TV Tourists and Facebook Boasters: Meet the Travel Tribes of 2013

- New study uncovers UK's latest trends including bronzed boys, cinematic sightseers and Twitter-mad tourist.
- Locations of Sex and the City, The Hobbit and The Hangover inspire the most trips.
- 39 per cent of modern men go on holiday solely in search of a sun tan.
- One third of holidaymakers fake smiles on Facebook to spark envy among friends at home.

Research into the holiday habits of people across the UK has revealed that the staycationers, coach trippers and clubbers have given way to some new types of intrepid traveller – including Beached Males, TV Tourists and Facebook Boasters in 2013.

The new Post Office study of 2,000 holiday-goers found that the reasons we fly off to different parts of the world are changing and new groups are as identifiable as dodgy tan lines.

TV Tourists
One fifth (19 per cent) of people now admit to being TV Tourists. Whether in search of Sex and the City-style glamour of New York or the mayhem of The Hangover in Las Vegas, millions now scour the globe to visit their favourite TV and movie sets.

The Big Apple, home to Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, and backdrop to Friends, Seinfeld and Girls, inspires the most TV tourism, closely followed by Hawaii, LA Rome and Auckland in New Zealand.

Top 10 film/TV inspired holiday destinations:

New York (39 per cent) e.g. Sex and The City, Goodfellas

Hawaii (23 per cent) e.g. Hawaii Five-O, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Hollywood/LA (22 per cent) e.g. 90210, Pretty Woman

Rome (21 per cent) e.g. Rome, Roman Holiday

Auckland/New Zealand (20 per cent) e.g. Top of the Lake, The Lord of the Rings

Venice (20 per cent) e.g. Casanova, The Tourist

Las Vegas (18 per cent) e.g. CSI Las Vegas, The Hangover

Sydney (18 per cent) e.g. Home & Away, Muriel's Wedding

Greek Islands (17 per cent) e.g. Mamma Mia, The Aphrodite Inheritance

Miami (15 per cent) e.g. Miami Vice, Marley & Me

Beached Males
Inspired by the male cast of TV’s Geordie Shore and The Only Way is Essex, the research also identified the Beached Male new breed of man who has the sole aim of perfecting his sun-kissed shimmer. A whopping 39 per cent of men aged 18-24 admit to being Beached Males, spending hours on the beach armed with just sun screen, magazines and the right swimming trunks.

Forget football, pubs and theme parks, these men are quite willing to miss out on other activities while on holiday to guarantee that they get their golden tan.

Facebook Boasters
Smartphones have a lot to answer for as Facebook Boasters flood news feeds with beach and pool pictures taken around the world. Committed to capturing every holiday moment, over a third (34 per cent) admit going so far as to fake fun photos for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, trying to appear as happy as possible to their friends, fans and followers.

Senior City-zens
While hordes of young tanners hit the coast, the Post Office study identified a growing trend of over-55s swapping sedate, secluded trips for exciting urban adventures. These Senior City-zens account for 15 per cent of all holidaymakers over 55s, hitting fast-paced destinations such as Berlin, Rio and Hong Kong in search of nightclubs and other thrills.

But the TV Tourists, Facebook Boasters, Beached Males and Senior City-zens aren’t the only new kids on the holiday block. The study also unveiled:

In-tents Characters (12 per cent) have ditched glamping and replaced luxury outdoor retreats with a back-to-basics approach complete with two man tent and rations.

Health trippers replace indulgent getaways with yoga retreats, boot camps, adventure sports and all the things that make the rest of us feel a little like slobs.

Long-haul lovers (19 per cent) travel half way around the globe just for the weekend.

One in eight (13 per cent) prefer to go on holiday with large groups of likeminded people, while seven per cent of people prefer the exact opposite – loving nothing more than holidaying alone. In fact, 13 per cent actually opt to leave their families at home.

Paul Havenhand, Head of Travel at the Post Office, said: “Be it TV-inspired trips or those holidaying for health reasons, we are excited to see so many new trends emerging. People feel free to travel in the way they want to and that really comes across in what we found in the survey.

“With so many different ways to make the most of holidays, customers are enjoying real choice and flexibility. However, they also crave an easy and hassle-free way to get all their travel essentials under one roof – and the Post Office is the perfect one-stop shop for the whole lot. People can then focus more on their tans, TV shows and tweets.”

Over 70 different currencies can be pre-ordered at over 11,500 Post Office branches or online for next-day branch or home delivery – so getting away won’t be a problem.

Euro are available on demand in more than 10,000 Post Office branches, while the most popular other currencies are available on demand in 1,600 branches. Instant Travel Insurance is available online, by phone or in branch, and Post Office is the only official provider of Passport Check & Send services.

The research was conducted among 2,000 respondents by OnePoll for Post Office between 12th and 15th July 2013.

Contact - Gabrielle O’Gara