Diamond Jubilee double bank holiday to create business boost
VisitEngland said the anticipated double bank holiday in 2012 will contribute to the extra business anticipated during the year of the Olympics.
The Jubilee Weekend is likely to stretch from Saturday 2 June until Tuesday 5 June, delaying next year’s Whitsun bank holiday and adding another bank holiday on Tuesday 5 June.
“Over a quarter of accommodation businesses felt the double bank holiday around the Royal Wedding this year had a positive impact,” said VisitEngland’s Chief Executive James Berresford.
“An extra day off to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee will provide a great feel good factor at the start of the summer and I’m sure will encourage more Brits to take a break at home – whether that involves enjoying the celebrations in London or getting out and about in the rest of England.
“Next year will be a very special year for this country and domestic tourism can only benefit from some of the most exciting events in the world taking place on our doorsteps.”
Price caution
However, business results from this April suggest that the sector did not perform as well as it could have during the Royal Wedding weekend, although overall results for the month were boosted by strong trade over Easter.
According to data from the hospitality consultancy TRI, hotel occupancy for the Royal Wedding was only 60 per cent, which may have been due to prohibitively high prices and a higher than anticipated number of day-trippers.
A VisitEngland survey of hoteliers in May this year also found that most businesses performed better during the Easter break than the Royal Wedding weekend.
Based on 500 interviews, VisitEngland’s Business confidence Monitor found that 80 per cent of accommodation businesses were ‘very or quite’ satisfied with their performance over the Easter Holiday period, while only 28 per cent said the Royal Wedding and double bank holiday had a positive effect.
“The findings provided a broadly positive picture for the industry in which over a third of accommodation businesses said they welcomed more visitors over the Easter period than last year,” said the agency.
VisitEngland is currently working with industry and private sector partners to develop its marketing strategy for promoting the country in 2012, taking advantage of the extra interest that will be generated around the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, the Torch Relay and the Cultural Olympiad.
