Death of the Postcard

LONDON, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Britons Prefer to Text 'PS - Wish You Were Here'

No more holiday afternoons spent writing postcards - texting is the way to tell family and friends what a great time you're having, according to a survey by Cox & Kings, the luxury touring and tailor-made holidays specialist, who asked UK holidaymakers how they keep in touch with family and friends from their travels.

The immediate gratification of texting updates and photos from holiday is the preferred method of keeping in touch for 35% of respondents, whereas only 15% still send postcards by snail mail in these tech-savvy times. As Brits become more and more comfortable using their mobiles on holiday, other methods include a mixture of Facebook and other social media, phone calls and emails.

The age of the postcard is well and truly over for 18-24 year olds, whose favourite form of keeping in touch with those at home is by texting and using Facebook. 35-54 year olds overwhelmingly keep in touch by texting and calling home, but a quarter of those over 55 years of age are still fans of the good old postcard.

Women are top of the texters, with 40% choosing to text and send photos of their holidays through their phones. Even though the majority of men also prefer texting over other forms of communicating, generally more men than women favour emailing and posting updates on Facebook to keep in touch.

"With the emergence of smart phones it seems people are opting to send instant updates and share photos from holiday rather than send traditional postcards," said Philip Hamilton-Grierson, Marketing Director at Cox & Kings. "Our company is over 250 years old and just as Cox & Kings has evolved, so we've seen our customers move with the times and today we enjoy receiving their holiday updates and photos through Facebook as much as by more traditional media."

Cox & Kings offers a range of luxury tours and private tailor-made travel to worldwide destinations.

Notes to editors:

• Survey conducted by OnePoll
• For more information please visit http://www.coxandkings.co.uk

About Cox & Kings

Cox & Kings is the world's longest established travel company. Its history stretches back more than 250 years to 1758 when Richard Cox was appointed regimental agent to the Footguards (later the Grenadier Guards). The company's fortunes grew hand in hand with the British empire and by the early 20th century the company was acting as agent and banker throughout the armed forces and as a shipping agent. In 1922 Cox & Co merged with the Henry S King bank, which had strong connections with India. The bank became part of Lloyds and the shipping agency grew separately, evolving into the modern travel company.

Today, built on the high quality service and attention to detail established by Richard Cox in the 18th century, the company continues to flourish as an independent tour operator, with operations in London, the US, Japan, Australia and throughout India. Cox & Kings organises escorted small-group tours and private tailor-made travel in the Indian Subcontinent, Latin America, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, and the Caribbean.

OnePoll

OnePoll undertakes a wide range of market research projects, working on behalf of companies from various sectors within the UK and around the world.

Our data is used for a host of purposes such as to generate feedback on a website, new product or service or potential ad campaign. Stories based on our research are also covered regularly by the national press, TV and radio broadcasters and online.

SOURCE Cox & Kings