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Holiday Cottages Mousehole Cornwall tourism Trends

Tourism trends – What do VisitEngland’s latest figures show?

Holiday Cottages Mousehole Cornwall tourism TrendsWe speak with holiday homeowners and their holiday home letting agents each and every day. This constant contact gives us an understanding of the issues you’re facing on a daily basis, but we also strive to understand the bigger picture; what’s making the industry tick, tourism trends and the opportunities these developments potentially provide you with.

In October we looked at the Great British Tourism Survey in our post Industry trends – What do they mean for holiday home bookings? and what it could mean for you as a holiday homeowner. This month we bring you an analysis from Visit England’s latest tourism trends dashboard along with the latest tourism trends and statistics.

Tourism trends – Occupancy rates are on the up

The great news is that occupancy rates across the country continue to rise.  They’re up again year on year by another 2.3%, making that a five-year rise of 7.4%. This rise is evenly spread throughout the UK with Yorkshire, the North West, South West and East of England all enjoying five percentage point increases in recent years.

Tourism trends – The continuing emergence of the ‘Millennials’

What exactly is a Millenial? It’s the term given to those born between the 1980s and the turn of the century and they represent 15 million UK residents (31% of the adult population).

In terms of tourism they currently account for 28% of total overnight trips made in the UK, spending in the region of £4.4 billion on their way.

Perhaps the most interesting point for holiday homeowners is that their predominant reason for travel is to visit friends and family. This is increasing the number of short breaks and stays under three nights and may be linked to the continued rise in occupancy rates outside of the traditional peak months.

Tourism trends – Staycation vs Overseas Visits

Whilst much publicity is often given to the ‘staycation’ and figures related to those holidaying within the UK, the good news is that we continue to be a popular option for international travellers.

Latest figures show a total of 27 million visits were made from overseas visitors between January and September this year, a 3% increase on the same period in 2014.

The number of people visiting towards the end of summer is also on the up, with more than 3 million visits made in September alone.

Tourism trends – Visitors have more disposable income

Figures show that spending is on the increase with an extra 9% in tourist spend splurged during holidays in England between January and August.

This takes the total spent to a staggering £82 billion with the South West, South East and North West all accounting for visitor spending in excess of £9 billion each.

General feedback from across the industry is that visitor expectations are becoming more and more exacting; the good news for holiday homeowners is that they’re likely to be willing to pay for the quality that meets those expectations.

Positive outlook for next year

The majority are feeling more positive about their finances following the turbulent economic conditions of recent years and will now be looking at, if not, already booking trips and accommodation for next year.

Latest figures show people are cutting back less on holidays than they were in March 2014 and although the predicted number of short trips taken next year are down, VisitEngland expects a stable market for longer holidays in England.

If you are in the business of holiday letting you’ll want to ensure that your holiday home properties are adequately insured. For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

For more information on how our specialist holiday home insurance could help cover your property please give our friendly team a call on 01237 429444. 

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industry trends

Industry trends – What do they mean for your holiday home bookings?

industry trendsAs specialists in holiday home insurance we speak to cottage owners each and every day. We hear what they’re experiencing on the ground, and for that reason we’re always paying close attention to the latest Visit England statistics, which give a great indication of how buoyant holiday home bookings are the health of the industry as a whole.

Is the future for holiday home bookings still bright?

We’ve taken a look at the most recent Great Britain Tourism Survey (2015), and what it could mean for you as a holiday homeowner.

The ‘staycation’ is still alive – more choosing the UK over the continent

Economic turbulence and recession in recent years has been linked to more and more visitors willing to take a short trip on these shores instead of venturing abroad; all hail the revival of the ‘staycation’.

Despite an upturn in economic performance there is no sign of this trend diminishing.  The first half of 2015 saw visitor numbers increase by 12%, whilst trips to the continent dropped by 16% during the same period.

Good news for all round for holiday homeowners across the country, and particularly the South West of England, where demand has been at its highest in five years.

Visitors spending more – are you promoting your destination?

Visitor spend has increased again; those visiting holiday homes and other accommodation providers have been spending 13% more in the first six months of this year.

Have you effectively built relationships with other businesses in your area; food and drink providers, restaurants, family attractions and other places of interest? With visitors spending more and more it’s a great time of the year to be checking and updating your website; are the best local spots on yours?

Time to take advantage of the growing demand for shoulder months

A growing trend for many holiday homeowners in recent years has been to extend the summer season and gain increased numbers of holiday home bookings during what are still commonly known as ‘shoulder months’.

If you haven’t already considered this, now may well be the time; bed nights for January to April were up by a staggering 22%.  If you want to gain access to this growing market you need to be putting your plan into action now.  Have you spoken to your letting agent about extending your availability? Perhaps offering shortened breaks or lowered costs for the winter months?

If you’re marketing your own property, is all of the information on your availability prominently displayed? Do you have great winter photography of that roaring wood fire? Are you emailing previous guests and enquiries to tempt them away?

Growing search engine marketplace

Google report that searches for the term “Holiday Cottage” increased for the sixth consecutive year; up by almost 3% on last year.  If you’re marketing your own property then getting your search engine rankings in order should be high on the priority list for this winter as more and more people continue to access their options through search engines. Remember that letting agents may be able to add value to your business by putting you in a larger Google shop window, therefore securing you additional holiday home bookings.

They’re doing it on mobile, are you?

If you’re not already aware, Google launched an algorithm update in April of this year that said if your site wasn’t mobile friendly then you’d begin to rank lower when visitors are searching from their mobile.

Smart Insights now report we’ve passed the ‘mobile tipping point’.  What does this really mean? More searches are now made from mobiles and tablets than they are from desktop computers.  When you consider that an ever-increasing number of your visitors are finding you from search, can you afford to be missing out? It has never been more important to have a mobile site than today, and it’ll be even more so tomorrow.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Key trends for holiday homeowners

Key Trends for Holiday Homeowners

Key trends for holiday homeownersAs specialists in holiday home insurance we’re dedicated to making sure we have our fingers on the pulse of the industry; what’s affecting holiday homeowners, the key trends, and how we can help support you through these.

We take a look at some of the developments and Key Trends for Holiday Homeowners in the past year…

Confidence is high – good news for holiday homeowners

With 86% of holiday homeowners confident about their current performance we enter the busiest period of the year sporting a level of optimism and buoyancy.

A milder winter without the early-year storms which blighted the West Country and other parts of the UK in 2014, combined with rising visitor numbers and stronger off-peak performance have all contributed to this level of confidence.

Visitor levels are on the rise

Last year was a successful one for many holiday homeowners as more and more of us turn to self-catering holiday cottages in the pursuit of the perfect home away from home.

62% of cottage owners indicated visitor numbers had increased from the levels they enjoyed a year before.

Off-peak and shoulder months continue to be an attractive market

Tourism is no longer just about the summer; there has been a 5% increase in visitor numbers during the post-summer months, with the biggest year on year occupancy rise being seen during the months of September and November.

Attracting year round trade continues to be a growing and potentially lucrative market for holiday homeowners.

People are spending more

Holiday homes continue to play a key role in generating revenue not only for the owner but also for the local community and economy.

Overseas visitors spent a record £21.58billion during 2014, up 2% from the previous year.  Much of this expenditure will have been on local food and drink, attractions and other service providers.

The year of the staycation?

The renaissance of the ‘staycation’ has been highly publicised in recent times and this now appears to be supported by booking numbers.

38% of accommodation providers indicate there has been an increase in those staying with them from within the UK.

Get them coming back

45% of accommodation providers have seen an increase in the amount of repeat visits they are gaining.

Effective marketing and use of tools such as email and social media are vital in creating longer-term relationships with visitors, and ensuring they are incentivised to return to the same location.

Visitors are checking your site out on their mobile

With ever-increasing numbers of people now looking to find their perfect holiday destination on their smart phone, the importance of having a mobile version of your website increases with each and every day.

Mobile visits now account for 31% of all website traffic and it is estimated that around 27million people in the UK access the internet through their mobile every day.

Google wants your site to have a mobile version

Google has announced it will start penalising websites that are not mobile-friendly from April 21 2015.  If you consider that your site could rank much lower than a competitors for 30% of your traffic this move could have a large impact on booking enquiries.

*Tourism Statistics courtesy of Visit England.

If you have any comments to add to our post on Key Trends for Holiday Homeowners please leave a comment below.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help provide you peace of mind as a holiday homeowner, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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