UK holiday cottage letting agency cottages4you has claimed a 5.4% upturn in business in the first half of this year is further proof of a resurgence in domestic holidays.
The operator, which is owned by Wyndham Exchange and Rentals that bought rival Hoseasons earlier this year, said the year to date had been impacted by a series of external factors.
The January snow saw sales slow to 3% down year on year but it said the market rebounded quickly with the thaw and in February seeing sales jump to 42% up on the same month in 2009.
The first Ash cloud airspace closure in April provided a further boost, the company said, with sales up 39% year on year as the benefits of holidaying closer to home were highlighted.
Then England’s poor performance in the Fifa World Cup prompted a slump with sales down 12% during the competition. But on England’s 4-1 defeat by Germany booking were up 9% in the week following England’s exit.
Geoff Cowley, managing director of cottages4you said: “The figures indicate that the trend for UK holidays is clearly here to stay and we are delighted with the performance to date.
“2010 booking patterns have been impacted by external factors over which the industry has no influence.
“The snow, World Cup and even the election have affected booking patterns for all holidays, but overseas packages are suffering more.
“The UK product has changed dramatically in recent years with gastro pubs and restaurants, new attractions and higher quality accommodation offering the UK holidaymakers much more.
“There’s so much more involved in the decision making than just price. The mainstream overseas package holidays simply aren’t as appealing as they once seemed to our parents’ generation.
“This is definitely a wakeup call to travel operators and it will be interesting to see how companies adapt.”