NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK FEATURE IN LIST OF UK’S MOST-DESIRED STAYCATION DESTINATIONS TO DISCOVER

Norfolk and Suffolk are amongst the top UK regions Brits want to discover on their holidays this year, according to holiday home rental agency Sykes Holiday Cottages.

According to its latest Staycation Index report, a record number of Brits will be spending their main summer holiday in the UK this year amid foreign travel disruption, with more than three quarters (77%) planning to holiday at home.

In a poll of 2,000 UK holidaymakers, Norfolk and Suffolk ranked second and third in the destinations Brits most want to explore, beaten only by the South-West region of Somerset. The Scottish areas of Argyll & Bute and Dumfries & Galloway rounded out the top five.

Areas of the UK Brits would most like to visit:

1. Somerset
2. Norfolk
3. Suffolk
4. Argyll & Bute
5. Dumfries & Galloway

Sykes has seen summer bookings to its 22,000 properties increase by 26% over the past four weeks, while bookings made to date this year for travel throughout 2022 are up by 30% year-on-year.

East Anglia is clearly a region that has increased in popularity in recent years, with Sykes reporting a 48% increase in bookings this summer versus five years ago, and a 19% uplift compared with the same period in 2019.

The report includes evidence of this staycation demand being linked to the cost-of-living crisis. After uncertainty around foreign travel, budget pressures was the reason most cited by Brits for choosing a staycation (35%).

Brits plan to spend £822, on average, on their main summer holiday, which is down from £940 in 2021. Even so, this is expected to boost the UK’s economy by an estimated £15.5 billion this year.*

More than half (51%) of Brits say they prefer their UK holidays to be in self-catering accommodation because it works out cheaper.

Graham Donoghue, CEO of Sykes Holiday Cottages, said: “The shift towards staycations had already begun pre-Covid, but our latest research proves that it is still showing no signs of slowing in this post-pandemic world.

“It’s fantastic to see so many people wanting to discover all that the East of England has to offer as part of this staycation boom – whether that’s visiting picture-perfect towns, taking in the area’s coastline, or exploring the Broads.

“We thought 2021 would be a hard year to surpass, but we’re expecting more Brits than ever to stay closer to home this year. As well as uncertainty amid overseas travel disruption, increased pressure on household budgets is leading to many turning to staycations as the better value option, with tourism economies across the UK benefiting as a result.”

To view the full Staycation Index report, visit: https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/blog/staycation-index-2022/