Icelolly.com survey finds football plans put holiday decisions on hold to watch Euro 2016

Icelolly.com survey finds football plans put holiday decisions on hold to watch Euro 2016

The European football championships that start in France tonight are having a delay affect on holiday bookings among England fans, research from Icelolly.com has found.

Image via Evan Lorne / Shutterstock.com

The European football championships that start in France tonight are having a delay affect on holiday bookings among England fans, research from Icelolly.com has found.

The Leeds-based online deals publisher and comparison site surveyed over 1,000 people finding 23% of England followers have postponed their summer holiday to watch the team play.

In addition 34% said they would consider postponing their summer holiday to watch England play during the tournament.

And 44% admitted to comparing England’s fixtures against their holiday dates while 86% of football fans say they have watched football while on holiday in the past.

Ross Matthews, chief marketing officer at Icelolly said: “The pressure is really on the team now to do well in the tournament to make sure these fans haven’t made a mistake in postponing their summer getaways.

“For those who are planning on watching the matches on holiday, there are plenty of deals to be had in destinations like Spain, Greece and Turkey where fans can stay up to date with the England team results and still enjoy their week in the sun.”

The Icelolly survey found it was not just football that prompts customers to delay their holiday decision.

With the Rio Summer Olympics due to start on August 5, almost a quarter (24%) stated they have postponed their summer holiday to be at home to watch a sporting event of any kind.


Meanwhile easyJet has announced it will use communication technology to relay live score updates to its flights to passengers are kept up to date with the action on the pitch.


A Match of the Day style spoiler warning will be made before each announcement so any fans not wanting to know out the result can avoid  finding out, although the airline does not suggest how they should avoid hearing the announcement.


Will Facey, Head of Network Operations, easyJet said: “As football fans across Europe make their final travel arrangements – whether they are heading to France or elsewhere on the easyJet network on holiday, we will ensure that we can contribute in keeping them updated with the action as it happens. 


“We fly to the majority of the 24 counties’ teams competing in the competition and so are perfectly placed, as football fever grips the nations, to allow our passengers and crew to receive final scores.” 


The budget airline says it has seen increased demand for services to French cities hosting games and it has a quarter of a million seats available for UK travellers during the month-long tournament.