Door2Tour.com, the website-based tour consolidator, has released new figures that show 'Staycations' are likely to be around for a long time to come as they report a sales increase of 65% in bookings for UK coach breaks.
This could be down to the surge in Internet searches for UK coach holidays and day trips proving that more customers are opting for staycations rather than European coach tours, as they are likely to get a much better deal and possibly avoid unnecessary travelling hassle.(EDITOR: Perhaps people are realising there's more than enough to see and enjoy within the UK, too?)
The popularity for UK coach breaks is significantly high for the first three months of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010 with traditional seaside resorts such as the Isle of Wight and Torquay proving to be popular holiday destinations. The rise in interest for UK coach breaks could be down to some of the major Travel Companies introducing fuel surcharges on their overseas tours and this could be one of the reasons why Door2Tour.com has noticed a decline in interest for European and Worldwide breaks.
Compared to UK coach holidays achieving an increase in sales of 65% in the first 3 months of 2011, there was only an 8% rise in European breaks whilst holidays to worldwide destinations only received an increase in sales of 1%. The addition of fuel surcharges is quite possibly one of the main reasons why customers are opting for coach travel and for UK coach breaks compared to holidays overseas but other factors could be the current financial unrest in Euro-zone favourites such as Portugal, Greece and Ireland as well as the poor exchange rates for the Euro and Sterling.
Rachel Jones, Online PR & Marketing Co-ordinator, for Door2Tour.com said: "It certainly looks like staycations are here to stay if our recent sales figures are anything to go by. UK coach breaks remain popular with many of our customers booking holidays to traditional seaside resorts such as the Isle of Wight, Torquay, Newquay, Eastbourne and Scarborough as opposed to overseas."
It's not just coach holidays in England that have seen a rise in sales bookings, with event tour packages appearing to have helped boost visitor numbers to other areas of the UK. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo helped to increase interest in coach holidays in Scotland, represented by an increase in sales of 135% for the Military Event compared to the same period in 2010. Old favourites such as London city breaks and theatre breaks remain popular with a rise in sales of 77%. Other events such as the Chelsea Flower Show, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the Royal Wedding mean that London will be attracting a vast number of visitors during 2011 - especially if the weather is good.
Rachel concluded: "Customers appear to be much more aware of potential risks when booking a holiday, and coach holidays minimise that risk. They will not be hit with any hidden extras such as airport taxes, car-parking fees etc as everything is included in one great-value price. Search trends for UK coach holidays on Google remain consistently high, which just goes to show that more and more customers are seeing coach holidays as a much more reliable way to travel."
About Door2Tour.com:
Door2Tour.com is a consolidation of national and regional tour operators creating a diverse choice of UK, European and worldwide touring holidays including coach holidays in Ireland, events packages, theatre breaks, cruises and holidays by air to many exciting destinations. All have live availability and offer the customer the opportunity to book online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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