Holiday headaches affecting 2021 UK summer staycations. Lack of campsite availability and national shortage of tents caused by surge in demand, Brexit and ‘Spread-Booking’.
The heightened demand for UK holidays is causing some concerning headaches for would be holiday makers this summer. From so called ‘spread-booking’ to Brexit, as well as the surge in demand for UK breaks, there are many phenomena affecting this summer’s staycations. And according to Bristol-based The Motorhome Holiday Company, these are resulting in a perceived lack of campsite availability, as well as an actual national shortage of essential camping equipment, both of which may mean that UK families might be put off booking a UK holiday this summer.
Matt Sims, Managing Director of The Motorhome Holiday Company, says, “We’ve noticed reports of a significant amount of people ‘spread-booking’, where they are booking different holiday options, for example a campsite and a foreign holiday, for the same week with the intention of cancelling one nearer the time. This is having the effect of skewing the true nature of UK campsite availability and may mean that some families wrongly assume they can’t book a UK staycation this summer.
In fact, we are we expecting 10% of our motorhome rental bookings to be cancelled and want to reassure customers who are yet to book that there will still be some availability this summer.
We are also observing how the new customs regulation following Brexit has affected the import of essential camping equipment, meaning that many large retailers are now out of stock as their bulk buying power has been impacted. However, these goods can still be purchased by smaller independent camping equipment retailers as they are less affected.”
According to the Motorhome Holiday Company, the top five pieces of essential camping equipment in short supply in the UK for this summer is as follows:
1. Tents
2. Gas barbecues
3. Electric bicycles
4. Calor Gas Bottles
5. Camping tables and chairs
The Motorhome Holiday Company has also been researching on a weekly basis the availability of UK campsites over the summer 2021 season and estimates that over 50% of campsites will still have availability in these following five regions:
1. Ceredigion, Wales
2. Powys, Wales
3. Isle of Wight
4. Leyland, Lancashire
5. St Columb, Cornwall
The Motorhome Holiday Company is expecting a 700% increase in demand for its motorhome rentals this summer, compared to two years ago, yet is keeping its prices frozen at 2019 levels, in an effort to support families who have yet to book a summer holiday.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
