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Is the staycation back in vogue?
Since the 2008 economic crash Britons have been growing increasingly fond of so-called staycations (meaning stay in the UK for your summer holiday) according to Visit Britain.
Holidays have changed over the course of the economic downturn, with short breaks and domestic trips driven by convenience, ease and cost increasingly part of the mix for those with the freedom to choose.
Why are caravan staycations so popular?
There seems to be several reasons why people are not going abroad as much for their holiday. These include:
Financial reasons - its perceived to be cheaper to stay in the UK rather than fly abroad, and with all the hassle of checking in on time at the airport, bundling the kids into the car and waiting around for your flight who can blame them!
Obtaining finance - to purchase a holiday home or touring caravan is relatively cheap with interest rates in the UK at an all time low. Having been reduced to 0.25% in August 2016, from 0.5% for the seven years previously.
Economic reasons - with the uncertainty of Brexit many UK citizens are unsure as to what effect this will have on travelling abroad. The fluctuation of the pound against the Euro and the Dollar often meaning that you get less Dollar or Euro for your pound than before.
National Security - with all the recent terrorist attacks in France, Sweden, Egypt, Belgium. British airlines and EasyJet have experienced a "cooling off" in demand for travel to certain countries as travellers become more cautions.
Celebrities influencing behaviour - according to the Telegraph Bonnie Tyler, Danny Dyre, Rio Ferdinand and Lorraine Kelly to name but a few, are avid fans of caravanning holidays.
Laura Trott and Jason Kenny, the golden couple from the Olympic Games in Rio had a 'MotorHoneyMoon'. Between them they boast 10 Olympic medals, and enjoyed their motorhome honey moon holiday with their dogs Sprolo and Pringle!
Great News for Holiday Parks
According to Glass's Business guide "As a consequence of the improving staycation theme, Holiday Parks have reported that their rental part of their business has increased greatly, and so fleet units are churned out at a greater rate, spelling good news for the caravan manufacturers also'' and a lot of the new static caravans are built in hull, which is good news for the UK's industry and employment.
The National Caravan Council confirmed that 18,611 factory invoiced units were despatched to holiday parks during 2015. This is over 2550 more units than in 2014 which equates to an increase of 15.9% and, following on from the 10.3% increase in 2014, the industry finds itself standing on a stable footing.
Great News for Customers
As caravanning is in vogue, holiday parks have tried to keep up with customer demand and added extra facilities to their park and providing a more home from home feel.