West holiday bookings soar ahead of PM’s nod

HOLIDAYMAKERS are waiting for the green light from Boris Johnson on Monday to say that their West Country staycation can go ahead.

Some accommodation providers have let almost all their properties in Devon and Cornwall in anticipation of the planned lifting of restrictions on self-catering breaks from April 12.

Holiday home firm Cottages.com said two-thirds of its properties in coastal locations or with hot tubs have been booked from the start of that week.

In Cornwall, more than 80 per cent of properties are already booked. In Devon it is 70 per cent.

But with the Government being guided by the “data, not the dates” as England emerges from lockdown, accommodation providers and wouldbe staycationers are waiting on the Prime Minister’s announcement, expected on Monday.

Bookings for a stay-at-home holiday this summer are more than double what they were at the same point last year, and more than 70 per cent higher

than in 2019. And in the West Country – the most popular part of Britain for a staycation, even in a normal year – things could get even busier as the summer progresses.

Mark Gordon, founder of luxury farm camping company Feather Down, said: “If it turns out that there are no foreign holidays to be had or that they’re very restrictive, I think you will find longer stays being booked towards the back end of the season as the summer runs out.”

The boost comes as VisitCornwall boss Malcolm Bell makes a case for reducing summer visitor numbers and moving them to quieter seasons.

Doug Armand/Getty > Cornwall has seen huge numbers of bookings from April 12