Cornwall to profit from domestic holiday boom
Cornwall has been voted the number one hotspot for UK tourists this summer, as a third of Brits plan to holiday domestically.
A survey commissioned by Travelodge of 3,300 Britons’ holiday plans for summer 2009 revealed that the number of Brits intending to holiday abroad has fallen from 33 per cent in 2008, to 27 per cent.
Of those remaining in the UK, most (40 per cent) intend to visit the seaside, reinforcing Cornwall’s top position as the most desirable location for a holiday in the UK. Second, third and fourth positions went to the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the Scottish Highlands and Islands respectively, with 24 per cent voting for a break in the countryside.
Paul Harvey, managing director at Travelodge, said the sunny weather forecast for the summer would make 2009 a ‘big year’ for the British tourism industry, but warned against operators raising their prices for the season.
“This year the resorts and destinations of the UK will be jam packed with British tourists,” he said. “It is also clear that people are looking to have an affordable break, cutting back on how much they are looking to spend when compared to the summer of 2008. Any tourism operators or resorts that are looking to raise prices to cash in on people holidaying domestically are likely to find that visitors choose to stay away.”
British holidaymakers are planning to spend £64 less on a holiday in the UK this year, with the average spend predicted to be £567. They predicted their biggest expense to be accommodation (£159), followed by attractions (£105), eating out (£104), and travel (£94).
