Official Statistics

Community and Engagement Survey 2025/26 - domestic tourism: report

Updated 14 August 2026

Applies to England

This report summarises the key findings for the domestic tourism sector in the Community and Engagement Survey (CES) for 2025/26.^{[footnote 1]} Reports for other sections within the CES are available on the annual web page.

The CES asked about any domestic holidays (that is, holidays in England) they had taken place in the last 12 months.

The CES is representative of people aged 16 and over in England. For simplicity, we will sometimes refer just to “people” in our reporting.

For information on how to use and interpret these statistics see the note available on the supplementary documents page.^{[footnote 2]}

1. Key findings

1.1 Headline

63% of people aged 16+ in England took a holiday in England at least once in the last 12 months, a 1 percentage point increase from 2024/25 (62%).

By ITL2 area, there was a 21 percentage point difference in the proportion of people who engaged with the domestic tourism sector, from 73% in North Yorkshire to 51% in Outer London - West and North West. 

1.2 Timeseries

As shown in Figure 1, overall engagement with domestic tourism rose from 2021/22 (55%) to 2023/24 (64%) where it peaked. Since then, overall engagement decreased in 2024/25 (62%) before rising in 2025/26 (63%). 

Figure 1: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector: England: 2021/22 to 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

1.3 Frequency of engagement

As shown in Figure 2, of the 63% of people who took a holiday in England, 37% stayed 1 to 2 nights, 46% stayed 3 to 6 nights, 13% stayed 7 to 10 nights and 3% stayed more than 10 nights. 

Figure 2: Percentage of people who took a holiday in England by length of stay: England: 2025/26 (Base: people aged 16 and over who engaged with domestic tourism)

1.4 Form of engagement

As shown in Figure 3, of the 63% of people who took a holiday in England, the most common place to stay was a traditional coastal or seaside town (30%), followed by the countryside or in a village (28%) and a city or large town (25%).

Figure 3: Percentage of people who took a holiday in England by location type: England: 2025/26 (Base: people aged 16 and over who engaged with domestic tourism)

Of those people who had taken a holiday in England, 44% had visited museums, galleries, heritage or cultural sites or events while they were away.

1.5 Transport

Of those people who had taken a holiday in England, the most common mode of transport used for travelling to their most recent holiday in England was by car (81%) or train or overground (19%). When asked about transport used during their holidays, 77% reported travelling by car, 31% travelled by walking and 15% travelled by train or underground.

1.6 Barriers to engagement^{[footnote 3]}

As shown in Figure 4, of the people who did not take a holiday in England, the most common reasons for this were “I cannot afford it” (35%), “I went abroad rather than taking a holiday in England” (25%) and “No reason in particular” (23%).

Figure 4: Barriers to taking a holiday in England: England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2. Demographics: Who engaged with the domestic tourism sector

Demographic questions in the survey are voluntary and self-reported by the respondent.

2.1 Age

As shown in Figure 5, people aged 40 to 44 (67%), 60 to 64 (70%), 65 to 69 (69%) and 70 to 74 (67%) were more likely to take a domestic holiday compared to the England average (63%). People aged 16 to 19 (56%), 20 to 24 (57%), 80 to 84 (57%) and 85 or over (38%) were less likely to take a domestic holiday compared with the average for people in England (63%). 

Figure 5: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by age, England: 2025/26: (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.2 Disability status

As shown in Figure 6, non-disabled people (68%) were more likely to take a holiday in England than disabled people (56%). 

Figure 6: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by disability status England, 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.3 Sex^{[footnote 4]}

As shown in Figure 7, females (65%) were more likely than males (62%) to have taken a holiday in England.  

Figure 7: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by sex, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.4 Gender identity^{[footnote 5]}

As shown in Figure 8, there were no significant differences observed between the proportion of people whose gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth (64%) and people whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth (61%) who took a holiday in England.

Figure 8: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by gender identity, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.5 Sexual orientation^{[footnote 6]}

As shown in Figure 9, heterosexual or straight people (64%), bisexual people (67%), and gay or lesbian people (66%) were more likely to take a holiday in England than people from the “Other sexual orientation” classification (45%).

Figure 9: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by sexual orientation, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.6 Religion

As shown in Figure 10, compared with the average for people in England (63%), Christian people (65%) and people who reported having no religion (66%) were more likely to take a holiday in England. Muslim people (40%), Sikh people (42%) and Hindu people (55%) were less likely to take a holiday in England compared to the England average (63%).

Figure 10: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by religion, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.7 Ethnicity

As shown in Figure 11, people from the White British^{[footnote 7]} (68%) ethnic group were more likely to take a holiday in England compared with the average for people in England (63%). People from the Bangladeshi (41%), Black Caribbean (41%), Pakistani (42%), Black African (44%), Mixed White and Black African (46%), Indian (50%), Mixed White and Black Caribbean (50%), Arab (50%), White Irish (54%) and Any other White background (55%) ethnic groups were less likely to take a holiday in England compared with the average for people in England (63%).  

Figure 11: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by ethnicity, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.8 Socio-economic classification^{[footnote 8]}

As shown in Figure 12, people from the intermediate occupations classification (67%) and the higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations classification (72%) were more likely to take a holiday in England, followed by people from the routine and manual occupations classification (60%). People from the never worked and long-term unemployed classification (42%) were less likely to take a holiday in England than all other socio-economic classifications. 

Figure 12: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by socio-economic classification, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

2.9 Index of multiple deprivation^{[footnote 9]}

As shown in Figure 13, people from the most deprived areas (1st decile, 48%) were less likely to take a holiday in England compared to people from the least deprived areas (10th decile, 74%). 

Figure 13: Engagement with the domestic tourism sector, by Index of Multiple Deprivation, England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

3. Domestic tourism by ITL1 and ITL2 area

3.1 Regional Differences^{[footnote 10]}

As shown in Figure 14, compared with the average for people in England (63%), people living in the East Midlands ITL1 area (67%) and the South West ITL1 area (68%) were most likely to engage with the domestic tourism sector. People from the London ITL1 region (55%) were less likely to engage with the domestic tourism sector compared with the England average (63%).

3.2 ITL2 area differences

By ITL2 area, there was a 21 percentage point difference in the proportion of people who engaged with the domestic tourism sector, from 73% in North Yorkshire to 51% in Outer London - West and North West. 

The proportion of people who engaged with the domestic tourism sector was in line with the England average in 24 ITL2 areas (67%), higher than the England average in 6 ITL2 areas (17%), and lower than the England average in 6 ITL2 areas (17%).

Figure 14: People who took a domestic holiday by ITL1 and ITL2 area: England: 2025/26 (Base: All people aged 16 and over)

1. The domestic tourism engagement estimates are based on data collection from April 2025 to March 2026 through the Participation Survey (April to September 2025) and the Community and Engagement Survey (October 2025 to March 2026). However the sample size is considerably larger for the latter 6 months through the Community and Engagement Survey and therefore the estimates are biased towards responses collected from October 2025 to March 2026. ↩

2. The majority of estimates in this report are rounded to the nearest whole number. As data are rounded, some changes may appear bigger or smaller than they are. The unrounded numbers are available in the corresponding data tables. ↩

3. This question was not included in the paper questionnaire and was asked of respondents online, so the results are only representative of the online population. ↩

4. This data is based on the respondent’s sex. The Community and Engagement Survey respondents were asked the question “What is your sex?”. The response options were ‘Male’, ‘Female’ and ‘Prefer not to Say’. This closely follows the ONS Census 2021 question for sex, where the target concept was certificated sex meaning a person’s sex at birth or as modified by a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), but has been slightly amended to include a ‘Prefer not to Say’ option as we do for all demographic questions in the Community and Engagement Survey. ↩

5. This data is based on the respondent’s gender identity. The Community and Engagement Survey respondents were asked the question ‘Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?. The response options were ‘Yes’, ‘No, type in gender identity’ or ‘Prefer not to say’. This closely follows the ONS Census 2021 question for England and Wales, but has been slightly amended to include a ‘Prefer not to Say’ option as we do for all demographic questions in the Community and Engagement Survey. It should be noted that in the Census 2021 data for England and Wales, patterns were identified that suggest that some respondents may not have interpreted the question as intended, notably those with lower levels of English language proficiency. Analysis of Scotland’s Census 2022, where the gender identity question was different, has added weight to this observation. More information can be found in the ONS sexual orientation and gender identity quality information report and the additional guidance and quality information for users of gender identity estimates from Census 2021 in England and Wales. Similar respondent error may have occurred during the data collection for these statistics so comparisons between subnational and other smaller group breakdowns should be considered with caution. ↩

6. Sexual orientation is an umbrella term covering sexual identity, attraction, and behaviour. For an individual respondent, these may not be the same. For example, someone in an opposite-sex relationship may also experience same-sex attraction, and vice versa. This means the statistics should be interpreted purely as showing how people responded to the question, rather than being about whom they are attracted to or their actual relationships. ↩

7. The White British ethnic group includes people from an English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British ethnic group. ↩

8. This is a form of socio-economic classification based on the employment status and occupation of the respondent. ↩

9. The Index of Multiple Deprivation is a geographical measure which classifies the relative deprivation of an area. It combines seven indices to produce one overall measure for the area (rather than the individual). It takes into account income, employment, education, skills and training, health and disability, crime, barriers to housing and services, and living environment. For this commentary, the most and least deprived deciles have been compared. There may be some other significant differences between deciles in between which have not been commented on here.  The analysis of the Index of Multiple Deprivation was conducted using the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation.  ↩

10. The questions on engagement with domestic tourism were not asked to all respondents. This means that data are not available at LA level. Data are however available by ITL2 area level (summary commentary provided in this report) and by combined authority level in the corresponding data tables. ↩