BRITS SHELLING OUT £1,463 TO ATTEND STAG, HEN DOS & WEDDINGS ABROAD

BRITS ATTENDING MORE WEDDINGS, HEN & STAGS ABROAD THAN EVER, ACCORDING TO CULTURE TRIP

• 2 in 5 weddings that Brits attend each year are now abroad, new Culture Trip research reveals
• The average overseas stag or hen do costs guests £616 each, with weddings costing a whopping £847
• Afternoon tea and alcohol tasting take the crown for the most favoured experiences
• A million Brits (1,090,377) have declined a wedding because they’ve cheated – or still are cheating – with the betrothed
• Culture Trip has launched a brand new list of alternative destinations for a cultural hen or stag do: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/9-alternative-destinations-for-a-cultural-hen-or-stag-do/

 London, UK, 26 June, 2019 – Peak wedding season has arrived and it’s been revealed that the rise in popularity of stag, hen dos and weddings abroad is seeing Brits shell out an average of £1,463 each when both pre-wedding celebrations and the nuptials are overseas.

Culture Trip, the global start-up operating in travel, media and entertainment, surveyed 2,000 respondents across the UK*, revealing wedding woes for the happy couple and guests alike, and new attitudes towards destination weddings and stag and hen dos.

 Home or Away? The rise of destination weddings and overseas stag and hen dos

Destination weddings and stag and hen parties abroad are rising. According to Culture Trip, each Brit will attend on average 1 wedding this year, with two-fifths heading overseas for the occasion. Of the 54 million wedding attendances this year, 24 million of those attendances will be to a wedding abroad. Most likely to be heading abroad are millennials, as of the 27 million millennial wedding attendees, a whopping 14 million of them will head overseas**.

Planning a wedding abroad? Your guests won’t thank you for it. Secret hatred of overseas weddings and stag and hen dos is common amongst Brits but in true British fashion, guests feel too uncomfortable to politely decline.

One fifth (21%) of Brits wish it were easier to say no to a wedding abroad, without offending the happy couple. Say no at your peril, however, as more than a third (38%) of people who’ve declined invitations have done so at the cost of a relationship.

Yet, the disdain may be mutual – more than half (51%) of Brits secretly think that couples plan a wedding abroad to avoid unwanted guests, and 39% of Brits even confess they would do this for their own nuptials.

The go-to excuse to avoid a wedding is the cost, with 46% using this as a reason to escape a wedding abroad. Shockingly, an estimated 1,090,377*** Brits have declined attending a wedding because they have cheated – or still are cheating – with the betrothed.

Overseas weddings, stag and hen dos leave Brits poor in pockets, but rich in experiences 

 Destination weddings aren’t cheap, for both the betrothed and their guests. The average wedding abroad costs guests £847 to attend and the biggest expenditure to consider is flights or trains, costing guests on average £156. Factoring in the accumulated cost of travel, accommodation, outfits, gifts, food, drink and activities, Brits could be shelling out over £45 BILLION on overseas weddings each year.

Stag and hen parties abroad also hit our wallets as Brits spend on average £616 all in the name of fun in the sun on foreign shores. This means that factoring in potential additional costs, Brits could be spending over£32 billion per year to attend destination stag and hen dos.

 For guests who’ve committed to attending both pre-wedding and wedding day celebrations on foreign shores, they’re shelling out an eye watering average of £1,463.

Hen and stag dos? No, ‘sten’ and ‘hag’ dos!

 Out with strippers and sashes, in with whiskey tasting and wellness –  stag and hen dos have undergone a completely modern overhaul. Just under A quarter (23%) of Brits think that heavy drinking is a relic of a time gone by, and strippers are now considered tacky  (41%) ; modern bachelors and bachelorettes are more interested in low-key experiences. Afternoon tea takes the crown for hen dos, with 28% of women classing it as their ideal hen do activity. For men, alcohol tasting wins with 1 in 6 men declaring this their favourite.

The Culture Trip survey also reveals a shift towards destination trips. Amsterdam tops the list as the most popular destination for stag dos historically (15%), whilst Edinburgh takes the crown for hen dos (9%). Meanwhile, Barcelona also sits at the top of bucket lists for stag and hen dos, with 38% of Brits hoping to travel there for pre-wedding celebrations.

Within the UK, Scotland is historically the most popular destination wedding location as 12% of Brits have travelled here for nuptials. Meanwhile, Spain tops the list as the most popular wedding destination outside of the UK, with 7% of Brits having attended a wedding here, whilst the majority of would-be wedding-goers lust after Italy as a dream wedding destination in the future (38%).

Natalie Smith, publishing director at Culture Trip said: “Our research reveals the sky-high cost of overseas stag and hen dos and weddings for Brits, which are only becoming more common as overseas travel continues to become quicker and easier.

“Interestingly, we’re seeing countries such as Spain retain their position as the most popular destinations for celebrations, yet places further afield are hitting the radar, with cities such as Lisbon (29%), Boston (27%), and Dubai (26%) on stag and hen bucket lists, whilst China (19%), Hungary (25%), Morocco (21%), and Thailand (23%) are making their way onto wish lists for weddings.

“We’re also seeing a shift in the types of activities party-goers enjoy, where the ‘usual’ activities are sticking around for a sense of tradition, but moves toward contemporary, inclusive celebrations are becoming increasingly common.”

For overseas stag and hen destination inspiration, visit: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/articles/9-alternative-destinations-for-a-cultural-hen-or-stag-do/

Stag Do Destinations Abroad 

Hen Do Destinations Abroad

Wedding Destinations Abroad 

Stag & Hen Do Activities