Blog: 'Sod abroad'

It sounds like a cross between a games console and an embarrassing medical condition, but Britons are about to embrace it as their answer to saving money on summer holidays.

Welcome to the “staycation”, which experts expect to be the trend as families who cancel or cut back their holiday plans opt to stay at home during their summer break.

Day trips or short breaks are expected to replace the traditional week or fortnight away as some parents decide that even a full holiday in Britain is a luxury they cannot afford.

Last week a Times survey reported that a third of the public said that they were switching their plans from a holiday abroad to a holiday in Britain. The anticipated rush has yet to begin, however, with only two weeks to go before the start of the state school holidays.

As economic gloom deepens, guest-house owners, hoteliers and restaurateurs in resorts from Scarborough to the Scilly Isles had been hoping that a perfect storm of the high euro, record oil prices and uncertain job prospects would persuade people to play safe and holiday at home this year.

As they nervously watch the skies for signs that summer may return, it appears that many of those who have scaled back their holiday plans are opting for what Americans, hit by rising fuel prices, are calling a “staycation” rather than a vacation.

Although no figures are yet available, anecdotal evidence suggests that bookings are down on last year and that those who are not yet committed to a break are waiting until the last minute to decide what to do.

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of South West Tourism, which covers Britain’s busiest holiday region, said: “We have not been helped by the weather. There are no great screams coming out from the South West yet, but the next few weeks will be crucial.

“Many people believe that they are entitled to a holiday. It’s not a luxury, so it is probably one of the last things to be cut back. You can live without a new car or a more modern fridge. But the real issue is we need the weather to lift a bit. If it comes good, I think it will be busy.

“A lot of people have booked leave, but are leaving it till later to decide what to do with it – whether to go away or just stay at home and take day trips instead.”

David Weston, a spokesman for the Bed and Breakfast Association, said: “There are members who are getting nervous as it’s already July and some people are not yet fully booked for August.”

Almost as big a problem as the strained family budget is the memory of last year’s disastrously wet summer. Camping, which has been undergoing a resurgence, is a lot less fun in six inches of mud, however cheap it is.

The British tourist industry, forced to adapt over the past decade to the era of long-haul holidays and cheap flights on budget airlines, has also lost the capacity to cater for the traditional fortnight-by-the-sea family holiday.

The resorts that have succeeded in reinventing themselves have done so as short-break destinations or concentrated on the more lucrative conference trade.

There are already concerns about the impact that the economic climate will have on next year. Traditionally, Britons book their holidays in January and many people had committed themselves for this summer before the credit crunch really began to bite.

Its effect is even being felt in privileged locations such as the Scilly Isles, 22 miles off Land’s End, which are booked to capacity every summer.

Sophie Hughes, of the isles’ tourist office, said: “Because of the limited amount of accommodation in the islands, people tend to book a year in advance. We have four campsites in the islands and they are fully booked for the school holidays.

“But I also work in a restaurant and I notice that people are cutting back on peripheral spending. It costs a lot to get to the islands and they are trying to save elsewhere.”

In St Ives, on the Cornish mainland, this week’s downpours provided a temporary bonus for the town’s guest-houses, with sodden campers seeking shelter from the storm booking every available room.

David Cameron and Gordon Brown are to take their summer holidays in Britain. The Tory leader will go to Cornwall. Mr Brown, whose holiday in Dorset last year lasted only four hours because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, is expected to take a family trip to the coast of East Anglia. Both will leave soon after the Commons rises during the last week of July.