READING, England, February 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The traditional 'summer' holiday may be a thing of the past, with more Britons set to take their vacations in the spring this year.

New findings from savings provider ING Direct reveals that 13 million Brits^[1] will take a 'Maycation' (holiday in spring) this year, overtaking summer as the main season when we go on holiday.

This increase (24 per cent^[1]) is being driven by the huge cost of taking the family away in the summer holidays, but is also being influenced by the occurrence of the London Olympics.

By taking a 'spring break' (during the school term) rather than one in the peak summer period, the typical family is able to save nearly £900, according to the bank's research.^[2]

The rise of the Maycation correlates with the dramatic decline of the summer holiday over the last few years, with the number of Brits holidaying in summer falling from from 13.2 million in 2009 to a predicted 11.9 million in 2012.^[3]

ING Direct CEO Richard Doe said:

"It's understandable that families are choosing not to go on holiday during the summer months when they can get away in the spring for much less and save money.

"This is compounded by the fact we're set for a outstanding summer of sport, with one of the greatest sporting events in the world taking place on our doorstep."

About ING Direct:

• ING Direct is the world's leading direct savings bank, with over 23 million savers worldwide. It was launched in the UK in May 2003 where it has 1.4m customers
• The savings bank has won a number of accolades for its customer service, website and UK-based call centres, as well as being highly commended for most trusted savings provider at the Moneywise 'Most Trusted' 2009 Awards.
• ING Direct is authorised and regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch Central Bank) and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Services Authority. Details on the extent of ING Direct's regulation by the Financial Services Authority are available on request.
• Deposits are covered by the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme to the level of €100,000 per customer.

ING Direct. 410 Thames Valley Park Drive, Reading, Berkshire RG6 1RH. http://www.ingdirect.co.uk

Footnotes

The research is based on 2,000 online interviews (representative of the UK population) carried out between December 2011 and January 2012 by Pure Profile research agency as part of the ING Direct Consumer Savings Monitor.

1. According to our research, over the previous three years an average of 22.5 per cent of the UK adult population took holidays in the spring (March-May). In 2012, the number of UK adults planning to take a spring holiday rose to 27.8 per cent, a rise of 5.3 percentage points, which is a proportional increase of 24 per cent. Summer has fallen from an average of 28.4 per cent (for the last three years) to 25.0 per cent this year - making spring more common than summer for holidays. 27.8 per cent of the UK population equates to approximately 13.18 million people vacationing in spring.

2. An audit of 50 different hotels across five different foreign holiday resorts revealed the cost of a week for a family of four in the same hotel between May 7^th - 14^th 2012 and August 6^th - 13^th 2012. The average trip taken during the school holidays cost £2,334 compared to the same break priced at just £1,454 when taken in May during term time. The average percentage increase in price between the two time periods was 61 per cent or £880 (nearly £900).

3. In 2009, 28.0% of Britons holidayed in summer (equating to 13.27m), this year 25.1% will go on holiday in summer (equating to 11.9m).

SOURCE ING Direct