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Breaking records and setting new trends Looking ahead to South Devon’s 2021 holiday season
T
ourism is a vital part of our local economy. Whilst these last months have seen businesses
diversify and adapt in order to survive, a vast wealth of companies across the region remain reliant on holiday makers in order to thrive. Undoubtedly, there will be many people within the community waiting in anticipation to fling open Dartmouth’s doors and proclaim ‘we are open for 2021’, when the government restrictions allow. But what do the coming months
hold for those in the tourism trade in Dartmouth and the surrounding South Hams? As a winter we would rather forget finally comes to a close, we look ahead to see what we can expect… as long as the Covid-19 beast continues to be tamed by our vaccine wielding NHS heroes. For the self-catering industry, and indeed all
accommodation providers across Devon and Cornwall, the forecasts look exceptionally positive, with all trends pointing to 2021 being one of the most successful holiday seasons ever. The award- winning local holiday letting agency Coast & Country Cottages has seen record numbers of summer bookings being made earlier than usual for their 450 self-catering holiday homes in the region. When comparing the company’s booking figures from 2020 (prior to the first wave of the pandemic), with the same figures from 2021, occupancy rates for this July and August are already 61% higher! Even with the agency’s outstanding
Gitcombe Retreat, Cornworthy
booking track record, this volume of advance bookings is unprecedented and is a clear shift away from the trend of customers waiting for last minute breaks. Website searches for July and August holidays are a
“Occupancy rates for this July and August are already 61% higher!”
massive 49% up year on year, which indicates that any remaining availability will fill up quickly. And the autumn is looking strong too - bookings for September and October holidays are already 20% over what the agency forecast, indicating that the 2021 holiday season will stretch long beyond the summer holidays. This is all despite the lack of confirmed annual events that normally ‘draw the crowds’. There are many reasons for this spike in demand, not least because people are
currently disinclined to holiday abroad, preferring to stay closer to home, where it is perceived there are fewer risks and cost implications. Google Trends identify that in the 12 months prior to February 2021, searches for ‘staycation ideas’ grew by more than 200% compared to the previous period. It also seems some people have changed their
Windwhistle, Dartmouth
holiday home preferences in the wake of three national lockdowns, with a significant increase in the speed at which large and luxury holiday homes are being booked. Coast & Country Cottages saw bookings for properties with four or more bedrooms increase by 133% during early February, and searches for ‘luxury holiday cottages’ more than double, when compared with the same point last year. This is supported by Google Trends, reporting an influx of 60% more searches for the term ‘luxury holiday cottages UK’ over the past 12 months. Indications would suggest that extended families
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