New research suggests that financial anxiety continues to affect UK holidaymakers for days, or even throughout their entire trip. A survey commissioned by the app thinkmoney found that only 27 per cent of travellers experiencing money concerns manage to switch off immediately. This figure rises to 38 per cent by the end of their first day away.
The study indicates that it typically takes up to three days for the majority of people carrying financial stress to relax, with 53 per cent reporting they have successfully managed to do so by this point. Conversely, more than two-fifths (42 per cent) stated they spend most of their holiday trying to disconnect or never fully achieve it.
Regional differences were also highlighted. Holidaymakers from the West Midlands were particularly unlikely to overcome money anxieties after the first day, with 66 per cent still stressed. They were closely followed by travellers from the East Midlands and London, both at 65 per cent. In contrast, people from Wales were more likely to put worries aside by the end of the first day, although more than half (56 per cent) of those with money concerns still worried after day one.
Nearly half (48 per cent) of financially worried holidaymakers from Scotland reported taking most of their holiday to switch off or never fully managing it, closely followed by those from Yorkshire and the Humber (47 per cent). The research surveyed over 2,000 people across the UK in June, with the switching off analysis based on more than 1,000 individuals who experience money worries on holiday.