UK visitors fall

[Big Sis..]

http://bit.ly/1aFcHN UK visitors fall for the first time since September 11 terrorist attacks

''There were 31.9million foreign visits to Britain last year - a 2.7 per cent fall on the figures for 2007 - according to a report by the Office for National Statistics.''

[altyfc]

But how many UK residents have holidayed in the UK this year, rather than abroad, I wonder...?

[CSE]

But how many UK residents have holidayed in the UK this year, rather than abroad, I wonder...?

Even those numbers are down now that the BBQ summer did not appear, so it seems.

[altyfc]

Do you have statistics that back that up?

A lot of the people we're working with in the self-catering industry seem to have had a bumper year up to now. Lots of people booking in the Jan-Easter window when £ was weak and there were lots of credit crunch worries making people opt for closer to home and self-catering rather than hotels...

The likes of Hoseasons and others have been doing really well.

[CSE]

Only reporting what a few UK newspapers have said.

[altyfc]

From The Independent:

From the Western Isles to the beaches of Brighton, and from the sands of Northumberland to the cliffs of Cornwall, there is hardly a part of the country that is not seeing a substantial swelling of visitor numbers. Hotel groups such as Travelodge are reporting bookings well ahead of last year at resorts and on routes to Scotland and the coast. Major providers of self-catering holidays, such as Hoseasons and Haven, say business is well up on recent years with family accommodation now almost booked up.

Resort after resort is reporting the best trade for years; some areas such as the Isle of Wight expect a rise in visitors that could exceed 50 per cent, and caravan and camping sites are seeing record years. So marked has been the migration to the country's resort areas that tomorrow Debenhams will announce it is shipping extra stock to its branches in seaside towns to try to cope with the "unprecedented" demand there. Other chains are expected to follow suit.

Rest of article at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 61472.html

[harcourtv57]

I can't say that I have noticed a big increase in more UK visitors, just more short breaks and last minute enquiries. And the current weather may well put paid to any temporary increase We ourselves managed a week in Mallorca, which is unusual for us to get away in peak season - and boy are we glad we did, as there hasn't been any decent sunshine since we got back two weeks ago