UK staycation market booming, show two new reports
The British domestic holiday market is booming, according to a new poll from Travelodge and a separate study from MasterCard.
The annual Travelodge holiday index for 2014 asked 3,000 adults about their holiday plans for 2014. Almost three quarters (74%) of Britons were planning on holidaying in Britain this year, a figure that Travelodge said had more than doubled in the past three years.
The MasterCard analysis, based on the Passport poll from Euromonitor found similar figures, stated that the domestic staycation market had actually increased by 114% in just one year.
This boom is set to boost the UK economy by up to £15b, the Travelodge study suggested, up from £3.2b in 2013.
Travelodge also found that more than half (52%) felt holidaying at home was better value than going abroad.
One in five (22%) also said that value was the most influential factor when booking a break, followed by location (20%), pictures and images (14%), online reviews (10%) and word of mouth from friends and family (10%). Almost a third (32%) said that they use online review site TripAdvisor before making a booking.
The hotel study also showed that over half of Britons are taking a series of short breaks throughout the year rather than spending all their holiday in one go, with 34% set to take two breaks, 37% expected to take three, and 12% taking four short holidays throughout the year.
Two in five (40%) were planning a trip to the seaside (with the most popular destinations including Cornwall, Devon, Blackpool, Brighton, Scarborough, Bournemouth and Whitby), while a similar number (37%) expected to go for a city break (the top choices being London, Edinburgh and York).
Similarly, 24% of those in the Travelodge poll said that a holiday is one of the few things they refuse to cut back on, and analysis from MasterCard found that Britons were feeling more confident about their finances, despite travel being seen as a luxury.
Sarah Quinlan, group head and senior vice-president at MasterCard Advisors, said: "As we head into the summer months and the economy continues to strengthen, we would expect to see momentum build, with consumers becoming confident to spend hard earned wages on summer holidays."
Peter Gowers, Travelodge chief executive added: "2014 looks like being the year of the Staycation. More of us than ever before are being inspired to get up and go and explore what Britain has to offer."
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