As an independent travel writer based in the UK, I'm always interested in what's happening in the UK tourism market and try to keep my eye on blogs, articles and industry reports to see what others are saying about tourism in the UK and see how it compares with my own experience and what others tell me.
It is well know that tourism is now a key part of the UK economy. According to English Tourism's own figures from 2011, tourism contributed £97 billion overall to GDP in 2010 and although nearly half of this related to domestic day trips, domestic overnight and inbound spending by overseas visitors were also both significant, with accommodation playing a large part in tourism provision.
My perception had been that most of the available accommodation stock for tourism is "serviced" (hotels, B&Bs, guest houses etc) so I was surprised to learn from English Tourism that, in fact, the non-serviced accommodation provided by the UK leisure accommodation sector - such as camping, caravan parks, motorhomes campervans, holiday cottages and lodges - accounted for over half of the more than 65,000 stock available in 2011. This told me it was probably about time to do a bit more research on the non-serviced sector to get a feeling for trends and developments and to see how that sector had fared in what had generally been a difficult year for those people in the UK tourism industry who were the ones who lost out on the diversion of interest (and spending) to the Olympics this year.
One of the most useful snapshots I have seen recently was an independent report by market research consultancy Du Cane Associates on the UK leisure accommodation sector commissioned by motorhome hire and caravan hire website ukmotorhomehirerental.com. This considered the effects on the leisure accommodation sector in 2012 of factors such as the economic situation and the effects of a poor British summer, the Olympics and Paralympics, Glastonbury and the Jubilee holiday, the Staycation trend, changes in demographics and the influence of social media. The overall conclusion was that despite strong growth in recent years, 2012 had seen a levelling off but that this was more due to a series of one off factors in 2012 (for example, there may be another poor summer but there won't be another Olympics) rather any underlying trends which would suggest that the sector isn't set for long term growth. This view is reinforced by positive vibes from early data for 2013 bookings suggesting that next year should be stronger again. It's well worth a read.
Helen Bovey, independent travel writer & motorhome enthusiast, currently freelancing, fan of the UK's leading motorhome hire and campervan hire portal website ukmotorhomehirerental.com - Lifes great!
Quick Links to report mentioned above (posted on ukmotorhomehirerental) -
http://www.ukmotorhomehirerental.com
http://www.ukmotorhomehirerental.com/pages/contentPage.asp?QN=131
http://www.ukmotorhomehirerental.com
http://www.ukmotorhomehirerental.com/pages/contentPage.asp?QN=131
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