Britons opt for staycations over May holiday as cost pressures ease
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Britons are opting for staycations for their May half-term and summer breaks, buoyed by easing inflationary pressure in the UK and cheap offerings by holiday operators for price-sensitive travellers.
Several of the UK’s leading holiday park operators told the Financial Times that this year they had seen an uptick in the number of British holidaymakers visiting their resorts.
The number of domestic trips fell last year after a staycation boom following the Covid pandemic. But in recent months, falling price pressures have spurred families to book holidays close to home again.
“Last year, continental Europe was a lot cheaper for many people and we saw a softening of performance in terms of lower visitors in South West England,” said James Greenslade, Exeter-based director of the hotel capital markets team at Savills, the estate agents.
“With the UK set for slower inflation than the Eurozone, the latter is proving to be on par in terms of expense now. This year is looking quite positive for the UK staycation in the mass market,” he added.
Haven, the UK’s largest holiday park operator with 3.5mn visitors a year, has registered a 10 per cent rise in bookings so far this year against the same period last year.
Most popular are the range of affordable options, including renting a caravan for up to eight people for less than £250; and meal deals for a family of four starting from £20, according to the operator.
Haven, which runs 40 parks offering caravan and lodge holidays along the British coast, has increased its staff by nearly 700 over the past year — up 7 per cent — with more joining in the coming weeks.
UK consumer price growth fell to 2.3 per cent in April, helped by decreasing energy prices. The rate was lower than both the Eurozone, at 2.4 per cent, and the US at 3.4 per cent for the first time in more than two years.
Butlin’s, one of the UK’s oldest holiday operators, is expecting occupancy this year to reach 93 per cent, up from 89 per cent in 2023, and pre-pandemic levels of around 80 per cent.
It is doubling the number of visitors eligible for its all-inclusive drinks package this week to cater for families visiting for the May half-term holiday.
Explaining why he was widening the offer, chief executive of Butlin’s Jon Hendry-Pickup said: “They don’t want to be unclear about what their bills are going to be like, [or] whether it’s going to be a shock when they get there.”
Beyond the seaside, many holiday groups are also seeing demand rise. Holidaycottages.co.uk, which has 15,500 properties listed across the UK and Ireland, registered a 9 per cent increase in bookings year-on-year for the May holiday period.
In Scotland, staycation bookings for the May half-term holiday have jumped 24 per cent annually, partly helped by the warmer weather this year, according to the holiday home letting agency. The Isle of Wight registered a 19 per cent rise.
Demand for staycations rose in 2021 and 2022 when international travel was still restricted, particularly in popular beauty spots like Cornwall, the Lake District and Devon, before slipping back last year as more people chose to go abroad.
The number of overnight holiday trips in Great Britain in 2023 was down 14 per cent year-on-year to 37mn, according to VisitBritain.
Park Holidays UK said demand fell “significantly” in 2023 and at the start of 2024 year-over-year but had “come back over the last four weeks” helped by better weather, raising prospects for the summer season, said Simon Fuller, sales and marketing manager.
Despite a rise in bookings, holiday groups have observed customers taking a cautious approach. Simon Palethorpe, chief executive of Haven, said guests were still “very conscious of their wallet”.
James Starkey at holidaycottages.co.uk noted bookings were made a week later than usual, with the average stay 4 per cent shorter in length than the norm.
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