The Rise of the British 'Staycation'

A grey cloud is looming over many holidaying Britons this summer. Just as June is about to kick off and summer gets underway, yet another ash cloud is moving over the European airspace. How is this possible? We thought last summer’s debacle with ash and cabin crew strikes was enough to last us a good few years. But it seems the ash is back, albeit spewing from a different Icelandic volcano.

We have been assured airport closures and flight cancellations won’t be on a scale anything like last year, but to be honest a lot of us have already put our overseas holiday plans on hold, instead favouring domestic ‘staycations.’

Whether we choose to trust long-term weather forecasts or not, we are all hoping that the forecast predicting a summer scorcher is correct, as millions of people have decided to holiday at home this summer.

What with rising fuel prices and a poor exchange rate, more people are choosing staycations this year than in the previous post-recession years.

A recent report in the Daily Mail found one in three Britons are planning on ‘holidaying at home’ this summer, adding an extra £7.3 billion to the UK’s tourism industry. The article claims the cost of a UK holidays has actually fallen over the past year, with an average seven-day break costing £578 last year but just £433.69 this year.

The most popular British holiday destinations for British travellers are Cornwall, Devon, London, Edinburgh and Cardiff, showing we like a good mix of urban and rural. Furthermore, the great British seaside is still a popular holiday choice with Blackpool, Brighton, Scarborough, Eastbourne and Bournemouth all remaining strong.

As the popularity of city breaks continues to grow, but the value of the Pound continues to fall, British city breaks are likely to remain strong throughout the year into the traditional city break period of autumn. City breaks aren’t so affected by the weather as much of the entertainment, sites and raison d’être of the city break is found inside.

What’s also interesting is the cost of a nights’ accommodation in a British hotel has also fallen. Once renowned for being the most expensive city in the world, a night in London is now cheaper, on average, than a night in Paris, Geneva, Stockholm and New York.

If you want to enjoy a British holiday this year, check out the wide selection of Millennium UK hotels on offer.

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