Agencies reveal Visit England campaign impact

Visit England's Holidays at Home are Great campaign has had “some impact” on domestic travel, according to 75 per cent of agencies who were surveyed after its launch.

Some 1,000 agents were asked their opinion after the campaign aired for the second consecutive year, reports Travel Weekly.

The increase may be down to more interest from consumers in a domestic holiday, more people asking about such a UK-based holiday or more people inquiring about domestic holiday brochures, according to head of trade partnerships Stuart Heath.

"We consider this to be really good news," he added.

Visit England released the information at its ‘Full English Breakfast’ briefing, which the organisation runs alongside trade partners Bourne Leisure, Shearings, SuperBreak and Hoseasons.

Visit England deputy CEO Louise Stewart said: "The start of the year was wet and it was awful but by Easter, the market was back on its feet and in April, we had a ten per cent uplift in volumes and five per cent in expenditure. By May, expenditure was up to six per cent above what it had been in May the previous year, and there were 13 per cent more holiday trips taken in 2013 than in 2012.

"It's too soon to draw conclusions for this year, but the trend to holiday at home is strong. There has definitely been a shift and we don't believe it's a change that's going to go away. Seventy per cent of people have changed their holiday behaviour over the last three years and that's not just where they go, but how they do it."

City breaks are becoming increasingly popular for domestic holidays, with people tending to favour shorter breaks at home, Ms Stewart revealed.

The most interesting thing revealed by the briefing was that growth in domestic tourist was not coming from those looking to save money by holidaying at home, but from affluent travellers who take three or four breaks a year.

Posted by Robin Western