The ‘Staycation’ Is Set For Another Great Year In The UK
Spring has sprung and Summer is just around the corner so many British families are putting together their holiday plans for this year. In the summer of 2009 we saw the rise of what became known as the ‘staycation’ with families opting for holidays at home instead of abroad. Seaside resorts reported an increase in visitors and UK tourism saw an increase despite the down turn in the economy. The ‘staycation’ was launched when families stayed at home and started visiting local tourist attractions but before long they started looking for affordable accommodation across the country.
Short weekend breaks became very popular with people staying in hotels and serviced apartments. A large proportion of those taking short weekend breaks tended to be young couples and groups visiting cities such as Bristol. There are lots of places to stay in Bristol like this but those looking for longer family holidays wanted different types of accommodation in a more rural location.
There were two family accommodation trends that became obvious in 2009 and this is mainly a case of budget. A large number of caravan and mobile home owners traveled to campsites in the South of England because it was cheaper. Those that didn’t want to brave the elements as much and had a marginally higher budget opted to rent holiday cottages.
Holiday cottages have always been popular in the southern counties of the UK with areas such as Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall proving to be prime locations for tourists to visit. Each of these individual counties has something to offer. Hampshire has Portsmouth, Southampton and the New Forest. Devon has great beaches and moors while Cornwall is well known for being popular among surfers.
Many of the popular holiday cottage rental agents reported that last year holiday cottages in Cornwall saw a dramatic increase in the number of rented properties. Newquay is possibly responsible for this trend as large groups of teenagers visit this area of Cornwall after they have finished their exams. This is likely to be because of the Cornish towns night life and the large amount of activities available like surf schools.
Another destination that is very popular is the New Forest in Hampshire. It is generally considered that the popularity of cottages in the New Forest was a result of the number of families choosing to visit the area. The appeal of the New Forest is likely to be because of the wide variety of outdoor activities, wildlife and beautiful scenery it has to offer. The location is also close enough to a number of interesting destinations that are easy to visit by car. A short car journey will allow you to visit the beaches of Bournemouth or the medieval city of Salisbury.
All the signs are showing that 2010 is likely to be another successful year for the UK tourism industry. The slow improvements in the economy mean that people still don’t have vast amounts of money to spend and with an increase in strikes amongst airline and railway workers many travellers feel uncertain about heading abroad. All of these signs point towards another success story for UK tourism and the continued rise of the UK ‘staycation’ in 2010.
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