Staycation or Vacation: What Are People Choosing For Their Next Holiday?

Both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a huge boom in staycations. In 2021 and 2022, the average number of domestic holidays taken per person had increased to over two per year, on average.

Now that many of the pandemic fears have been quelled and people are more confident mixing, what is the state of the industry, and what are people choosing for their getaways?

Defining a Staycation

A staycation usually means choosing to stay in your home country rather than taking a trip abroad. For the purposes of the UK, this could include crossing the border into Scotland, England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, too. Some people define a staycation as staying at home but incorporating time off and day trips into the routine. Either way, it does not involve travelling out of the country.

When you think of a staycation, you probably think of loading up the car and driving to a cottage, hotel, or campsite throughout the UK, and the benefit of not having to deal with airports and complex travel in a different country.

How COVID-19 Changed Staycations

The spark of domestic holidays was lit long before COVID-19. Statistics show that in many areas, staycations were already on the rise and the Government called Britain a “Staycation Nation”.

During the pandemic, the choice was taken out of peoples’ hands in many scenarios. We all remember the travel restrictions put in place and holidaying abroad seemed like a pipe dream at times. 

ONS figures show that the number of people going abroad again is increasing, visits increased from 71 million in 2022 to 86.2 million in 2023, but there are still a lot of people who are looking to stay in the country, either along with another holiday or instead.

COVID definitely changed staycations and saw a big spike, but this trend has continued and people are waking up to the UK’s potential. 47% of domestic holidaymakers have taken more staycations than trips abroad since COVID-19.

The reasons people are choosing staycations may have changed slightly, and COVID is not at the top of the list, but there are factors leading to people staying in the UK.

• Cost and the weak pound have made an impact. The days of getting almost two euros to the pound are long gone, and with inflation in many countries making things more costly. Turkey is in the midst of a financial crisis.
• Convenience definitely plays a part for a lot of people, too. Airports can be stressful and travel can take a long time, so staying relatively close cuts a lot of the travel stress.
• Safety is another factor. The UK is considered a relatively safe country, and the Global Peace Index puts it at 37th place on the chart. Many holiday destinations are lower and people are concerned about theft and other crime, as well as factors like disease.
• Experiences at home still offer plenty. London is one of the most visited cities in Europe, and is relatively simple to reach from much of the UK. It may be costly, but it also has a lot of free attractions such as the famous museums.

Current State of European Tourism – Key Destinations and Their Popularity.

Finder.com shows us the most popular destinations for British people, and how many trips are taken each year. As you can see, a phenomenal number of people head to Spain and France for their holidays.

Factors around the world and the most popular destinations for Brits should also be considered. Turkey, one of the top 10 tourist destinations, is currently in the midst of an economic crisis. While the inflation rate has settled somewhat, it is still at a huge level and means that trips are much more expensive than they would have been in prior years.

Some areas of Spain are introducing strict measures to try and dissuade tourism from Brits, and we’ve even seen protests in regions like Majorca. As well as not feeling so welcome in these areas, since Brexit, Brits are subject to the ‘third states’ rules which are imposed on visitors from outside the EU.

A traveller visiting Spain must “present proof of having sufficient financial means for the proposed stay”, or have a way to legally earn the money while they are there. 

While millions still choose to go abroad every year, recent years have made things more complex and this could be playing a part in peoples’ thought processes regarding visiting European neighbours or going further afield.

The Future of British Tourism

British tourists hold a lot of power in the world of tourism, and the size of the outbound tourism market is set to hit US$206.43 billion by 2034 at a growth rate of over 8%.

Keeping more of this money within the UK economy could be a positive for some communities and popular tourist spots such as coastal regions of the UK.

In 2019, the Government made a commitment to tourism including 10,000 more apprenticeships and supporting the building of 130,000 extra hotel rooms.

Both vacations and staycations form part of the future of British tourism, of course. With over 80 million trips abroad every single year, it is not likely these are going to stop, though there are some locations where the number of tourists is dropping, and it will be interesting to see how figures in Spain are impacted since recent protests.

The staycation and vacation debate is not black and white, and many people enjoy both trips abroad and staying at home over the course of the year. The future of British tourism will see a blend of both, with many people embracing the beautiful holiday destinations of the UK.

Want to know if you should go on a staycation or vacation for your next holiday?  

Take the quiz now to find out – Staycation or Vacation Quiz.

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