Staycation surge hikes up cost of seaside holiday lets
Prices have risen by 35% when they would normally increase by about 2%
11:20, 5 MAR 2021
Updated
Prices for staycations in Llandudno have gone up (Image: Mike Dean Eye Imagery)
Prices for some UK seaside breaks has risen by an average of 35% compared to last year as the demand for staycations drives up costs.
A report by consumer group Which? indicated prices have been hiked in 10 of the UK s most visited beach destinations, including Llandudno.
The cost of a one-week stay at a property in north Wales seaside resort has risen from £427 to £596, a 40% increase.
Britons are snapping up summer flights which are only a fifth of the average price in 2019 as travel firms report a foreign holidays booking bonanza this week.
Demand has surged after Boris Johnson said there was every chance breaks abroad can go ahead this summer, with the current plan to allow them again from May 17.
Skyscanner, the flight booking website, said some prices were significantly lower than two years ago with many travellers still concerned about travelling overseas.
It found the price of flights to southern Europe was down 82 per cent, with flights to Italy in August at £24 per adult on average compared with £131 this time in 2019.
Last modified on Sat 13 Feb 2021 00.09 EST
A day is a long time in the pandemic. On Wednesday morning Grant Shapps’ “don’t book a trip anywhere” warning was greeted with dismay by UK tourism businesses, but by the end of the day it was clear that the public had no intention of heeding his advice: they were booking UK holidays regardless, and in droves.
Pitchup, an online platform listing 2,000 campsites, caravan parks and glampsites in the UK, ended Wednesday 47% up on the same day in 2020, and was 92% up by the end of Thursday. Beth Bailey of Premier Cottages saw “absolutely no slow down whatsoever”, while Under the Thatch, a collection of boutique cottages in Wales, said sales in the first 12 days of February were 300% up on the same period in 2020. “It’s really encouraging, and I’m heartened that whatever [the government] seems to throw at us, we can and do bounce back stronger,” said the founder, Greg Stevenson.
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