Last month’s UK heatwave triggered a slump in interest in overseas stays in favour of ‘staycations’ at UK coastal resorts, according to new figures.
Hotel searches to Magaluf dropped by as much as a quarter while those to Woolacombe in North Devon soared by 41%, a study by hotel comparison website Trivago found.
Resorts in Majorca suffered the greatest percentage decrease in hotel searches since the heatwave out of the 50 most-searched-for overseas destinations among UK travellers last month.
Four out of the top ten destinations are located in Majorca, with searches in Magaluf down by 25%, Palmanova down by 20%, Alcudia down by 17% and Santa Ponsa down by 16%.
Also showing significant decreases since the heatwave are Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach down 22%, Ayia Napa and Protaras in Cyprus down 19% and 16% respectively, Salou also down 16% and Costa del Sol’s Fuengirola and Nerja on the Costa del Sol down 14% and 13% respectively.
Devon and Cornwall is the most-searched-for UK region, with hotel searches in Falmouth up by 18%, Paignton up by 8%, Newquay also up by 8% and St Ives up by 7%.
Also popular is Barmouth in Wales up 20%, Blackpool also up 20% and Folkestone up 11%).
“The increase in hotel searches on the UK coast suggests the heatwave persuaded some holidaymakers to make the most of the British weather and stay at home this summer,” Trivago said.
“This is supported by Trivago’s Summer Trends data, which suggests the ‘staycation’ is on the rise, with 16 of the top 50 most popular summer destinations located in the UK.”