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| Britons' unease about overseas travel drives surge in staycations | Britons' unease about overseas travel drives surge in staycations |
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| As the peak UK holiday season launches with a combination of beautiful weather, security fears about some of the most popular overseas destinations, and the falling pound in the wake of Brexit, there has been a surge of interest in staycations. | |
| Coastal resorts and country cottage retreats around Britain are reporting a dramatic increase in bookings – Visit East Anglia reported that inquiries and bookings had risen by 25% in the last few weeks. Suddenly the prospect of hours in a traffic jam stuck behind a snake of caravans heading for the West Country seems less alarming than paying at least 10% more for a sangria or a café au lait. | |
| The sudden unease about overseas travel has been reinforced by recent terrorist incidents including the attacks in Paris and Brussels and the Bastille Day horror in Nice. In Turkey, one of the most popular destinations for UK travellers, tourist numbers are estimated to be down by more than 25% after earlier terrorist incidents and the instability in the wake of the attempted coup. | |
| The holiday plans of thousands more families were destroyed by the collapse of the budget holiday firm Lowcostholidays. They will lose almost every penny paid in deposits because the firm was outside the Abta or Atol protection schemes, and some desperate families have turned to crowdfunding to try to salvage their plans. | The holiday plans of thousands more families were destroyed by the collapse of the budget holiday firm Lowcostholidays. They will lose almost every penny paid in deposits because the firm was outside the Abta or Atol protection schemes, and some desperate families have turned to crowdfunding to try to salvage their plans. |
| TravelSupermarket – whose suggestions for staycationers include husky trekking in Yorkshire and admiring the northern lights from the Isle of Man – estimates that a family of four could face an increase of £245 in the cost of an overseas holiday because of the fall in the value of the pound. | TravelSupermarket – whose suggestions for staycationers include husky trekking in Yorkshire and admiring the northern lights from the Isle of Man – estimates that a family of four could face an increase of £245 in the cost of an overseas holiday because of the fall in the value of the pound. |
| The effect has been so marked that several low-cost airlines, including easyJet, have launched sales at what should be their peak profits time, to persuade holidaymakers to take to the skies. | The effect has been so marked that several low-cost airlines, including easyJet, have launched sales at what should be their peak profits time, to persuade holidaymakers to take to the skies. |
| The easyJet chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said the combination of the falling pound, air traffic control strikes and the fear of terrorist attacks had severely dented consumer confidence. | |
| If the falling pound has made holidays abroad dismayingly expensive for Britons, it has also made the UK alluringly good value for other nationalities. Even before the pound tumbled against both the dollar and the euro, Visit Britain reported the best first quarter for inward holidays, with both tourist numbers and the amount they spent well up. | |
| Visits from the US, the most valuable single overseas market for Britain, were up 9% compared with the first quarter in 2015, visits from Germany were up 24%, and there were more than 500,000 visitors from Spain, a new record. Visitor numbers from China, the United Arab Emirates and Australia also rose. | |
| Related: The 50 best UK holiday cottages for summer 2016 | Related: The 50 best UK holiday cottages for summer 2016 |
| “The weather has been kind to us,” said Patricia Yates, the director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain. “I think if the weather is good when the schools break up – and given the pattern of late bookings – people are more inclined to think let’s go and see what Britain has to offer. We hope they have a wonderful time.” | “The weather has been kind to us,” said Patricia Yates, the director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain. “I think if the weather is good when the schools break up – and given the pattern of late bookings – people are more inclined to think let’s go and see what Britain has to offer. We hope they have a wonderful time.” |
| The Visit Britain figures show increases across the board, in self-catering and hotel holidays, coast, country and city, and short breaks. | The Visit Britain figures show increases across the board, in self-catering and hotel holidays, coast, country and city, and short breaks. |
| Yates said this year’s surge in bookings built on a pattern of growth, with staycations up 7% overall last year. Apart from the attractions on offer, holidaymakers liked the certainty of budgeting for a UK holiday. | |
| “There has also been a real increase in quality,” she added. “TripAdvisor is now putting the UK second in the world after Italy – and that’s up from 15th place in 2005.” | “There has also been a real increase in quality,” she added. “TripAdvisor is now putting the UK second in the world after Italy – and that’s up from 15th place in 2005.” |
| Inevitably, the Met Office forecast for the weekend and the next week sees the recent soaring temperatures and clear blue skies giving way to increased cloud and frequent showers. |