Dailymail
The Great British Staycation boom is over due to the return of foreign holidays and the crippling cost of living crisis – as visitor numbers drop below pre-Covid levels, tourism chiefs have warned.
One tourism group, which represents more than 80 tourism businesses, said there had been a ‘noticeable lull’ in visitors across the sector.
Almost half of its members saw fewer tourists over the holiday period than they did in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
They said increased running costs including food and energy prices were making it especially difficult for businesses and they now fear for their future.
One regular staycationer, Christine Conway, who booked a holiday in Wales this year, said it’s ‘no wonder’ families are looking overseas because holidaying in the UK has become hugely ‘expensive’.
She wrote: ‘When you look at prices to holiday abroad and compare it to holidaying in the UK this year, it’s no wonder people are going overseas, this year was so expensive in the UK. We’re still holidaying here this year because we weren’t confident enough to go abroad – but might not next year.’
The decline comes as the soaring cost of living and fuel cost increases leave Britons seeking cheaper alternatives to their day-to-day lives as purse strings tighten across Britain.
And there’s further issues in Wales as hospitality chiefs, small businesses and tourism bosses have warned any new levy for foreign holidaymakers coming to Wales would ‘decimate’ the holiday industry.
Visitors to Wales may be forced to pay a tourism levy to stay in the country in the future, if a planned consultation which will be launched by the Labour-backed Welsh Government this autumn is approved.
