"Coronavirus boosts UK holiday bookings as demand for flights slows"

Well that's quite a heading and quite a claim! But it's not ours. It is in fact, a headline taken from that esteemed newspaper, The Guardian. The article, published this week goes on to say:

"The rise of the staycation is a perennial story. In the past five years, heatwaves, Brexit, the weak pound, overseas terrorist attacks and, more recently, the climate crisis have all boosted UK holiday bookings. This year, coronavirus looks set to do the same as British travellers swap holidays abroad for a break closer to home. UK campsites are seeing extra bookings, too. Listings site Campsites.co.uk. says year-on-year searches were up 18% in February, and nearly 30% so far in March."

“Lots of the most popular holiday parks and glamping sites already have less than 20% availability for peak summer, so families that have a clear idea of where they want to go should book now rather than risk missing out,” said founder Martin Smith. “In our experience, many sites wouldn’t normally have sold quite so much summer availability this early in the year, and certainly the traffic figures tie in to that.”

Motorhome Depot Has Busiest February Ever

The interesting thing about the Guardian article for us, is that it exactly chimes with our own experience. We have just had our busiest February ever and March too, has started off at a gallop. Of course, no one knows what the final impact of Coronavirus will be. But it is fascinating that a growing number of the British public are turning to motorhoming and caravanning as a low risk, enjoyable pastime during the various bouts of turmoil in recent years.

So fear not, motorhomers and caravanners of the UK! Your pastime is thriving, campsites are ever improving and your vehicles are holding their value. Take today's headlines in your stride and look forward to the next time you are sitting under your awning with a glass of wine in your hand. And for those of you lucky enough to be considering a brand new motorhome - today the chancellor even promised to reverse the ridiculous 705% increase in road tax. Let the good times roll!

The Motorhome Depot Team.