Survey finds that 54% of families planning a late summer holiday intend to staycation in the UK!
Ah, the annual summer holiday – the packing, the changing currency, the queues to go through security, the finding out your flight’s been cancelled… it’s safe to say British holidaymakers have been put through the mill this year when it comes to going abroad. A spate of pilot strikes for airlines like Ryanair, and an air traffic control workers’ strike in the South of France, has resulted in literally thousands of flights being cancelled to popular destinations in France, Spain and Italy.
Never mind, though; at times it’s been so hot in the UK, what with the unexpected heatwave, that it’s been hotter than the likes of Ibiza! So maybe going abroad on holiday is not worth the trouble? By running a survey of 2,480 Brits, Satsuma Loans decided to find out whether the glorious weather we have experienced this summer has altered our late summer holiday plans…
The survey revealed that a significant 54% of families planning a late summer holiday are considering doing so in Britain, because of the great weather we’ve been experiencing (and will again soon, according to forecasters!). Other reasons given for staycationing included wanting to get to know Britain better (22.6%), not having to speak another language (13.1%), not being able to take pets abroad (12.7%), the weakness of sterling against the Euro (8.4%), not being able to drive (5.3%) and the risk of cancelled flights (4.1%).
But deciding where to go in Britain could be the biggest challenge…
We’ve all heard of quintessential British seaside resorts like Blackpool and Eastbourne, but there are actually dozens of great beaches throughout the whole country. To help families choose on where to staycation, Satsuma Loans has created this helpful and detailed interactive guide to Britain’s beaches!
Surprisingly, the survey also found that Brits have on average only ever visited 8 beaches in the UK!
Satsuma Loans also asked respondents what they thought was the most quintessential part of a British seaside resort. Over half of us associate fish and chips with British seaside resorts; and indeed there is nothing better than a paper-wrapped portion of freshly battered cod accompanying hot, salty chips dressed in vinegar, ketchup or brown sauce (delete according to taste!) – that’s if the seagulls don’t get them first… 17% of respondents said pleasure piers – those classic walkways which stretch into the sea, lined with souvenir shops, fortune tellers’ booths, amusement arcades and food stalls. Some of the best examples include Brighton Palace Pier, which dates from 1899, or Cromer Pier, which includes a theatre.
Other quintessential British seaside items include multi-coloured beach huts, like at Southwold-on-Sea, pebble beaches, candyfloss and cheeky post cards, with their truly terrible innuendos.
Encouragingly, nearly two thirds of us believe that British seaside resorts are experiencing a revival, as investments have been made into several, making them more appealing for visitors. Margate, for example, has undergone a decent amount of regeneration, following the opening of the Turner Contemporary art gallery in 2011, and the multi-million pound makeover of the Dreamland amusement park, which relaunched in 2017. And Hastings has reinvented itself as an art destination, with the opening of the Jerwood Gallery in 2012.
But even before all these fancy additions, there was something wholesome and appealing about our British seaside resorts, with their donkey rides, 99 ice creams, and buckets and spades, as 71.5% of the over 50s surveyed look back at their childhood British beach holidays with nostalgia. And we don’t even expect it to be Ibiza or Dubai levels of heat, either; the survey asked what the ideal daytime temperature is for a summer beach holiday, and the most popular answer was 24°C. Perfect for wearing a string vest, knotted hanky on your head, and socks with sandals.
