Campsite and cottage bookings for 2021 surge
Campsite and cottage bookings for holidaymakers in the UK have surged this summer, and extended to the summer of 2021, as tourism abroad faces an uncertain future due to the pandemic.
The surge in the so-called “staycation” has meant a lack of availability this summer for placements in the UK, and prompted Britons to book ahead for next year, reported the Guardian on Wednesday.
Website pitchup.com has already had 1,400 bookings for next summer, an increase of more than 500% on the previous year.
"Camping is the only type of accommodation that has been able to expand to meet demand from the many holidaymakers who’ve switched plans from abroad to stay on home turf.Hundreds of farms have set up ‘pop-up’ sites, and already look likely to repeat this next summer," said Pitchup founder Dan Yates.
Hotel booking specialist LateRooms.com even launched a new site designed to capitalise on the growing holiday rental business.
It recently unveiled LateCottages.com, which lists over 100,000 last-minute and professionally managed holiday cottages on one site.
The site was launched last month as the holiday rental market in the UK was seen to expand.
In July more than 30,000 rooms were booked through the LateRooms site.
Despite many UK holidaymakers preferring to go abroad for their summer holidays to countries such as Spain, Portugal or France, this year the regulations from the UK government to help combat the spread of Covid-19 have meant many have decided to choose holiday destinations within the country.
For countries such as Portugal or Spain, Britons currently need to self-isolate on return to the UK and anyone visiting would be subject to health screening.