VisitEngland’s Bank Holiday Trip Tracker survey shows that 5.1 million Brits are planning an overnight holiday trip in the UK this weekend, with 4.6 million planning a holiday in England.
Brits holidaying at home for the long weekend are expected to generate about £1.25 billion for the UK economy, of which £1.1 billion will be spent in England.
VisitBritain/VisitEngland Director Patricia Yates said:
“Record numbers of Brits have been taking holidays at home this year and with so much going on this summer the August Bank Holiday weekend is another chance to enjoy a great holiday whether on a seaside, countryside or city break.”
The survey also shows that a further 3.6 million people are still undecided about whether to take an overnight holiday trip in England over the Bank Holiday weekend with about 40% saying they are waiting to see what the weather is like and about 20% saying they like to decide at the last minute.
Earlier this year, VisitEngland launched its domestic marketing campaign for 2016 to get more Brits to holiday at home. The campaign inspires people to share images of their own amazing holiday moments in the UK using the hashtag #OMGB, some of which are shared across VisitEngland’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook platforms.
It has been a record-breaking first four months of the year (January to April) for domestic holiday trips in England. From January to April Brits took 11 million holiday trips, 8% more compared to the same period last year, and spent £2.8 billion, 22% up on last year and taking both measures to record levels for this period.
These figures come on the back of a strong 2015 with domestic holiday trips and spending both up 7% on the previous year to 43.7 million holiday trips in England and £10.7 billion respectively.
The number of Brits taking short-breaks (1 – 3 nights) in England was up 10% compared to the previous year with people also taking about 4 million more short- breaks in England than they did ten years ago.
Also in 2015 domestic seaside holiday trips were up 7%, city holidays up 6% and countryside holidays up 12%.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
What’s on this August Bank Holiday:
• Celebrate Europe's biggest street festival, Notting Hill Carnival, London (28 – 29 August)
• Dance, eat and revitalise at the Jazz and Ale Festival at Boringdon Hall, Plymouth (28 August)
• Lose yourself at the Asylum Steampunk Festival, Lincoln (26 – 29 August)
• Spend the evening bat watching at Cherryburn, Northumberland (29 August)
• Camp out with The Big Wild Sleepout on Havergate Island, Suffolk (28 – 29 August)
• Watch The Hound of the Baskervilles under the stars, Chapterhouse Theatre Company, Hampshire (28 August)
• Capability Brown Birthday Weekend at Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire (27 – 28 August)
• Join in at The Siege of Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire (28 – 29 August)
• Enjoy the King Arthur Weekend, Glastonbury Abbey, Somerset (28 – 29 August)
• Scarecrow Festival, Thornton le Dale, North Yorkshire (29 – 31 August)
• Dartmoor Walking Festival, Devon (27 August – 4 September)
About VisitEngland’s Trip Tracker Surveys
• VisitEngland commissions online omnibus surveys periodically in order to collect data on the number of GB consumers who plan to take an overnight trip at key times throughout the year.
• In this August 2016 edition, the survey was carried out on an online omnibus by the research agency TNS, with a representative sample of 1,219 adults aged 16 and over in Great Britain.
• The fieldwork for the survey took place between 18 – 22 August 2016.
• The August 2016 Bank Holiday falls on the 29th of August.
• View the VisitEngland 2016 August Bank Holiday Trip Tracker survey: https://www.visitbritain.org/bank-holiday-trip-tracker
