The stars have aligned in perfect succession this Easter as the UK enjoys not one, but two four day weekends, back-to-back no less, and record breaking April temperatures. But we are not witnessing a mass exodus overseas. Instead the roads are full of cars, campsites are full of tents and caravans and the beaches are full of happy families.
The low value of Sterling, painful memories of last Easter’s travel chaos and a lack of cash in the back pocket thanks to rising inflation, wage stagnation and a new higher level of VAT has meant the staycation is back for the third year in a row. This is good news for the economy, as British Pounds will stay within British shores but it is also a major boost for the UK tourist industry, which the Government is hoping to push in the coming years.
The new tourism strategy from the coalition Government is focusing on encouraging longer domestic breaks. The aim is to increase 4-night or more UK trips by 9%. So the news that 35% of Brits will be holidaying domestically this year should come as good news.
Many of us will be choosing a camping or caravanning holiday. These types of holidays offer the greatest value for money and take as back to a bygone era of family camping breaks in the countryside and coast. According to the Camping and Caravanning Club, there has been a rise in advanced bookings of 12% for caravan breaks and 25% for camping breaks. This has been backed up by Halfords, who claim sales of camping equipment have gone through the roof. To prove it’s not just a growth in an already established group, John Lewis, not as niche as Halfords, has seen a 65% rise in sales of tents, sleeping bags and other camping equipment and a 50% rise in camping accessories such as torches and penknives.
Last year, there were a total of 5.43 million camping trips in the UK, which was a 20% rise on 2009. This year, the prediction is over 6 million and it may end up being a major holiday contender for the 27% who are yet to decide on where to holiday this year as the Met Office is predicting summer 2011 to be the hottest since the record breaking summer of 1976.
If you are undecided, check out the huge selection of holiday parks UK on offer from Park Resorts.