Over the past couple of years the UK tourist and travel industry has benefited from the economic down turn as many people have been unable to afford expensive holidays abroad and have turned to some of the South of England’s top holiday destinations.
This trend was labelled as the ‘Great British Staycation’ by the UK media, as bed and breakfasts, hotels and self catering holiday cottages reported that they had seen a rise in the usual number of bookings. It was the South of England that benefitted the most as Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset all saw the biggest increases in tourists. The trend looks set to continue this year as travel agents for Cornwall and Devon have already begun to see rises in bookings for this year.
Holiday cottage booking agent, Nick Pash of Hideaways has already seen this trend taking effect.
“This year there has been an increased demand for some of our larger holiday cottages. In most cases these are families booking cottages in counties like Cornwall, with everyone from grand parents to the family dog staying”, he says.
The recent grounding of flights in and out of the UK as a result of the spread of volcanic ash, and the continued strike action by British Airways employees might have resulted in a loss of consumer confidence for those that would normally book a holiday abroad. It is easy to understand why people would choose to stay in the UK as many travellers became stranded abroad. While the airlines are suffering, the South of England could very well see a surge of tourism.
“We’ve already seen an increase in bookings for holiday cottages in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset this year.” says Nick. “I believe that these areas are so popular thanks to the combination of beautiful countryside, beaches and a variety of attractions for the whole family.”
It seems as if the forecast for British tourism in 2010 is bright, now we just have to hope the weather holds out.
