Baby Travel Statistics UK 2026: The Complete Data

By BabyTravel UK Editorial Team · Last updated March 2026

This page collects key statistics on baby and family travel in the UK, drawn from official sources including the ONS, ABTA, the Civil Aviation Authority, and published market research. Every figure is sourced and linked to its original report. It is updated regularly as new data is published.

If you are writing about family travel, researching the market, or looking for data to support a piece, you are welcome to cite these figures — please link back to this page and the original source.

Last updated: March 2026. Data points are updated as new annual reports are published.

1. UK family holiday trends

These figures give a broad picture of how UK families with young children travel, drawn mainly from ABTA's annual Holiday Habits report and third-party survey data.

For context on how travel patterns vary by age, see our guide to travelling with a 3-month-old and travelling with a 6-month-old.

2. Flying with babies and young children

The CAA publishes annual passenger data for UK airports. Note that the CAA does not disaggregate passenger figures by age group, so UK-specific data on child or infant passengers as a proportion of total traffic is not publicly available.

Planning a first flight? Our guides on flying with a baby and flying with a baby and stroller cover everything from booking seats to gate-checking your pushchair.

3. Holiday spending

Cost is consistently the most-cited barrier to family travel, and these figures give a sense of what UK families are spending.

For tips on keeping costs down, see our guide to UK vs abroad for a first holiday with a baby and our roundup of best budget travel pushchairs under £200.

4. Accommodation preferences

Self-catering dominates for families with young children, driven by the need for kitchen access, flexible mealtimes, and more space than a standard hotel room provides.

Self-catering is the largest single accommodation segment for UK domestic family travel. Platforms like Holiday Cottages and Sykes Cottages have grown substantially in the post-pandemic period as families seek space and kitchen access over hotel stays.

5. Popular UK destinations for families with young children

These figures cover both overseas destinations visited by UK families and the most popular domestic regions.

For UK domestic family travel, the South West of England is the most popular region overall. Cornwall, North Wales, and the Lake District consistently appear in the top searches for family self-catering breaks. See our destination guides for Cornwall with a baby, the Lake District with a baby, and North Wales with a baby.

6. Baby gear and pram market

UK-specific revenue figures for the pushchair and pram market are held behind commercial research paywalls and are not publicly available. The figures below are global market estimates that include the UK segment.

For buying advice in this category, see our roundups of the best travel strollers, best compact strollers, and best sturdy lightweight strollers.

7. Birth rates and the new-parent travel market

Note: no published survey data exists on the average age at which UK babies take their first holiday, or on the proportion of parents who travel abroad before their child turns one. This appears to be a gap in publicly available family travel research.

Data sources and methodology

All statistics on this page are drawn from the primary sources listed below. Where figures are cited from aggregator sites such as Condor Ferries or Can We Go With Kids, the original survey source is noted where available. Market research figures (Mintel, Grand View Research, GM Insights, Valuates Reports) are taken from publicly available summaries; full reports are commercially licensed.

FAQ

What is the average age of a baby's first UK holiday?

No published UK survey data exists on this specific question. Anecdotally, many families aim for a first domestic trip between 3 and 6 months, once feeding patterns are more established, but there is no official or representative statistic. Our guide to travelling with a 3-month-old covers what to expect at that early stage.

How much does the average UK family spend on a holiday?

Legal & General's 2024 Family Finance Report found the average UK family holiday budget to be £2,005. ONS data shows UK residents spent an average of £961 per overseas trip in 2024. Domestic trips are cheaper on average: VisitBritain recorded average spend of £412 per domestic overnight trip in Q3 2025.

How many UK babies are born each year?

The ONS recorded 594,677 live births in England and Wales in 2024. Including Scotland and Northern Ireland, the UK-wide total is approximately 700,000 births per year. This represents the approximate size of the new-parent cohort entering the family travel market each year.

What is the most popular overseas holiday destination for UK families?

Spain is the most visited overseas destination for UK residents overall, with 17.8 million visits in 2024 according to ONS data. This includes the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza) and the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote), which are particularly popular for families with young children due to warm weather and direct flights from regional UK airports.

What proportion of UK families prefer self-catering accommodation?

GM Insights research (2024) found that hotels and vacation rentals were tied at 31.6% each as the preferred accommodation type for UK families. Self-catering is the largest single segment of UK domestic family accommodation, driven by the flexibility it offers around feeding, sleeping schedules, and kitchen access — all significant factors when travelling with a baby or toddler.

How many people fly through UK airports each year?

The CAA recorded approximately 295 million total passengers through UK airports in 2024. Heathrow was the busiest at 83.9 million passengers, followed by Gatwick (43.2 million) and Manchester (30.8 million). Note that the CAA does not publish passenger figures broken down by age group, so infant and child passenger totals are not publicly available.

Are there UK-specific statistics on the pushchair and pram market?

Detailed UK market revenue figures for pushchairs and prams are held behind commercial research paywalls and are not publicly available. Global market data shows the stroller market was worth $1.21 billion in 2024 with projected growth of 5.3% CAGR through 2030. Lightweight and travel strollers account for approximately 38% of global sales. The UK market is projected to grow at 4.2% CAGR through 2032 (Valuates Reports).

How often do UK families with babies travel?

Families with children under 5 take an average of 6.49 holidays per year according to IPA-Opinium research cited by Condor Ferries. Across all UK family households, ABTA's 2024 Holiday Habits Report found an average of 3.4 holidays per year: 1.8 domestic and 1.6 overseas. These figures suggest families with very young children travel more frequently than the average, likely a mix of short UK breaks and overseas trips.

The family travel market is one of the most active segments of UK leisure travel. With around 700,000 new parents entering each year and an average holiday frequency that outpaces households without young children, it is a significant and growing sector. All statistics on this page will be updated as new annual reports are published.