The Daily Telegraph’s headline on 4 August was “Staycation fatigue spells end of great British summer holiday boom”.

“The holidays at home boom is over, tourism bosses have said, blaming ‘staycation fatigue’ for a slump in bookings at even the most popular UK destinations”, so writes the magazine’s Associate Editor, Gordon Rayner. 

The paper says the catch-up consumers are not even put off by the prospect of airport delays and flight cancellations, leaving visitor number to UK destinations falling below pre-pandemic levels.

Travel agents are reporting increases in package holiday bookings, while the chief executive of Visit Cornwall, Malcolm Bell, says the region is attracting nowhere near last year’s numbers.  He cites accommodation providers with five or 10% vacancies in August, while May and June had been quieter than expected. 

Cumbria Tourism said 55% of holiday businesses report bookings being down on an average year.  In Devon, demand is reported to be well below normal.  As a result, prices for holidays in the UK have fallen, according to The Telegraph with “cost-conscious tourist refusing to pay the sort of inflated prices operators were able to charge last year”.  Malcolm Bell also said that last-minute cancellations were becoming common as “the difference in the cost of their energy bills between this year and last year is the cost of a holiday”.

Read the full article here (subscription service).

Do these views reflect the experience at your park?  Is the rise in fuel prices affecting parks in the furthest reaches of UK as holidaymakers choose vacations closer to home?  The NCC would like to hear from park operators across the country – email editorial@thencc.org.uk.