Summer “staycations” sees growth of more than 30 per cent; Commonwealth Games spurs summer demand for Scotland. British holidaymakers will stay true to the traditional holiday hotspots of Spain, France & Italy this summer, with Spain, and the Balearic Islands in particular.
LONDON, UK – HomeAway Inc. has hit one million live holiday home listings, further establishing the company’s position as the world’s largest marketplace for alternative accommodation. HomeAway, which was launched in 2006 with just 60,000 holiday homes and generated more than US$11 billion in rental revenue for owners and property managers in 2013 alone, is marking its one million holiday home listing milestone by revealing where British travellers will be jetting off to (or not) this summer.
HomeAway, which lists more holiday homes to rent than the world’s largest hotel operator has rooms, is predicting that British holidaymakers will stay true to the traditional holiday hotspots of Spain, France and Italy this summer, with Spain, and the Balearic Islands in particular, topping the list of destinations that UK travellers enquired about most when planning their summer holiday.
In spite of this, the “staycations” sector is seeing significant growth. Whilst the UK ranks fourth1 and Ireland 13th, both destinations have seen the highest year on year growth in enquiries with the UK experiencing a 32 per cent rise in enquires in 2014 compared with 2013 and Ireland enjoying a 38 per cent jump in interest.
“Whilst demand for holiday homes in Spain, France and Italy –destinations that have always been popular with Britons – remains high, our statistics show that the biggest area of growth is in the staycations sector”, said Gregory Sion, UK Director, HomeAway.
HomeAway’s research also reveals that, within the UK, the regions that are in highest demand this summer are the West Country, London and South East of England.
However, London, whilst still hugely popular, has seen a 12.74 per cent fall in enquiries for summer 2014 compared with last year. The West Country, on the other hand, has seen demand increase by 42 per cent and The Heart of England, whilst it did not make the top 10 UK regions, has seen a dramatic rise in enquiries of more than 100 per cent since last year. In addition, England ranked second most popular holiday region, ahead of Cote d’Azur, Algarve and Andalusia.
“It’s Scotland that will be the real winner this summer, however, with the number of enquiries for properties in the Glasgow & Clyde Valley region jumping by a staggering 1,581 per cent3 thanks to the draw of the Commonwealth Games which will take place in July,” added Sion.
“Other areas of Scotland that are enjoying a hike in interest this summer include Edinburgh and Lothians, Scottish Highlands & Islands, Argyll & Stirling and Ayrshire & Arran”.
Percentage growth in number of enquiries per country received between January – May 2014 from UK customers searching for holiday homes to rent between 20 July – 8 September 2014
|
Ranking |
Country |
YoY enquiries growth |
|
1 |
Spain |
-0.76% |
|
2 |
France |
-7.54% |
|
3 |
Italy |
-1.99% |
|
4 |
United Kingdom |
32.33% |
|
5 |
Portugal |
4.93% |
|
6 |
USA |
-20.87% |
|
7 |
Greece |
11.46% |
|
8 |
Croatia |
-16.16% |
|
9 |
Germany |
12.75% |
|
11 |
Cyprus |
-16.67% |
|
12 |
Turkey |
-19.33% |
|
13 |
Ireland |
38.27% |
Top 10 most popular holiday regions, based on number of enquiries received between January – May 2014 from UK customers searching for holiday homes to rent between 20 July – 8 September 2014
|
Ranking |
Holiday Region |
|
1 |
Balearic Islands |
|
2 |
England |
|
3 |
Cote d’Azur – Provence |
|
4 |
Algarve |
|
5 |
Andalusia |
|
6 |
Catalonia |
|
7 |
Alicante – Costa Blanca |
|
8 |
Florida |
|
9 |
Aquitaine |
|
10 |
Tuscany |
Percentage growth in number of enquiries per UK region received between January – May 2014 from UK customers searching for holiday homes to rent between 20 July – 8 September 2014
|
Ranking |
UK Region |
YoY enquiries growth |
|
1 |
West Country |
42.08% |
|
2 |
London |
-12.73% |
|
3 |
South East England |
2.89% |
|
4 |
Glasgow & Clyde Valley |
1,581.25% |
|
5 |
Edinburgh and Lothians |
38.25% |
|
6 |
Cotswolds |
79.95% |
|
7 |
East of England |
41.29% |
|
8 |
Cumbria & Lake District National Park |
42.80% |
|
9 |
Scottish Highlands & Islands |
21.76% |
|
10 |
Yorkshire |
24.29% |
|
11 |
Heart of England |
108.47% |
|
12 |
Gwynedd – Snowdonia |
17.26% |
|
13 |
North East England |
49.20% |
|
14 |
Argyll & Stirling |
94.96% |
|
15 |
Ayrshire & Arran |
43.26% |
|
16 |
Pembrokeshire |
59.19% |
Photo caption: Isle of Wight, in the South East of England.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
