Staycationing – a case in point being Yorkshire
TravelMole guest comment by Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire
In May last year one in five people who took a holiday abroad in 2008 claimed they were planning to holiday in the UK in 2009.
The number of people travelling abroad dropped considerably in 2009, down 16% on 2008 and Yorkshire was one of the biggest winners with many people choosing to visit the region for their summer holidays.
Staycationing was a definite trend in Yorkshire. Whether that was the result of the economic downtown, job insecurity and the poor exchange rate of the pound is debatable, but what isn’t is the figures that show tourism was booming in Yorkshire in 2009.
Research from the United Kingdom Tourism Survey, released last month, showed that Yorkshire was the fastest growing region in the country for attracting UK visitors, up a staggering 31% during the summer of 2009. This, incidentally, compared to London which saw a drop in visitors of -9%.
The Yorkshire and Humber region’s bumper summer 2009 continued into the winter, with businesses reporting in early December that they were experiencing increased bed bookings compared to the same period in 2008.
At the same time, one in five hotels and guesthouses in the region were fully booked for Christmas and around a quarter were booked up over New Year.
The research proves that Yorkshire is a top holidaying destination and can compete successfully against other regions around the UK. In these tough economic times it’s fantastic that the tourism industry in Britain, especially the Yorkshire region is doing so well.
With British Tourism Week starting next week (March 15-21) the importance of tourism to the economy will be highlighted nationwide – it is worth £6.5 billion to Yorkshire alone.
The trend of staycationing will have had a big impact on many regions, not just Yorkshire.
The proof though, will be whether those bookings continue this year and beyond, especially if the economy and the value of the pound start to recover.
We will be discussing these issues and our plans to make sure Yorkshire continues to attract visitors regardless of the state of the economy at our annual conference Y 10, on March 22.
To register and hear our exciting plans visit www.welcometoyorkshire.net/Y10/join-us.aspx <http://www.welcometoyorkshire.net/Y10/join-us.aspx>
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports