22 July 2008

Stags and hens come home to party

Domestic tourism is seeing an unexpected boost from hen and stag parties as the soon-to-be-weds react to the credit crunch by partying on home shores.

As August, the most popular month for Brits to marry, approaches Travelodge is reporting a major surge in stag and hen party bookings in its city properties.

The chain says that a poll it conducted amongst 4000 adults in June showed that 84% indicated that they would be attending pre-wedding nights out in UK cities rather than travelling abroad.

The poll found that men will attend two stag events a year on average, spending Ã&#pound;370.21 each time while women will spend Ã&#pound;323.41 and at just one hen night a year on average.

Travelodge reservations director Mark Kemp said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe generally have a steady stream of hen and stag bookings each year but this year we have seen a dramatic rise in our group bookings are for a pre-wedding celebration. Nowadays weddings are a very expensive affair and not everyone can afford a trip abroad in addition to attending the wedding itself. In some cases the cost can exceed thousands of pounds. "

Most popular cities for stags and hens for 2008, according to the poll, are London, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, and Bath.

By Dinah Hatch