So many good reasons to holiday at home
IHAVE to admit that when I first heard the term ‘staycation’ I absolutely hated it. Not for what it meant, but only because nobody in this country uses the term ‘vacation’.
Holidays have become one of the hottest issues in the last week, in fact just as the temperatures were at their lowest.
Our national psyche is not difficult to predict: When the days are cold and short, we naturally look ahead to when it will be warmer and plan our holidays.
If there has ever been a time when we needed something to look forward to, it’s now. Having spent more time than ever stuck indoors, the thought of heading off somewhere else, indeed anywhere else, is hugely exciting.
The annual summer holiday, when we would jet off to sunnier climes and lay on a beach for a week or two, has become a modern tradition, getting people through the winter months.
But with foreign breaks seemingly unlikely until the autumn, this year’s summer holiday destinations look more likely to be here in the UK.
It seems that most people agree – and many have made plans already.
Despite the warning from Grant Shapps last week that it was ‘too early’ to be booking our summer holidays, there have been reports of a ‘stampede’ in holiday bookings for UK operators.
Plenty of those holidaymakers – including Health Secretary Matt
Hancock – will be in Devon and Cornwall, much to the relief of our local tourism industry.
It seems that the only question left is when the doors will open.
While there will be the usual complaints from some residents of UK hot-spots of congested roads, packed car parks and crowded attractions, it would be hoped that the fact those visitors will help to save businesses and keep people in jobs will mean they are welcomed.
The complication of Covid-19, and the potential for visitors to spread infection, may sadly only make many of those complaints louder, despite the vaccination roll-out which is continuing apace.
But those gripes aside, the tourism industry in the UK has arguably never had a better platform to showcase what it can offer.
For starters, the fact that we have all been stuck indoors for so long will only heighten the general level of delight at simply being somewhere different.
Heading to a different town, city or coastline seems almost exotic when all you have had to entertain you for months is the inside of your home and an unchanging view out of the window.
The novelty of eating at a restaurant, or having a drink in a pub (maybe even without also ordering a Scotch egg) will have people giggling with glee.
And if the weather plays ball, then the excitement levels will reach giddy heights.
The truth is that we have so much to offer in the UK, so suggesting that a UK break is somehow the poorer relation of going abroad is doing the whole industry a vast disservice.
You can’t guarantee the weather, of course.
But there is so much more that we can all explore this year – just as we have found out more about our local areas and immediate neighbourhoods by walking around them for the past year.
It will take some good marketing from those businesses who realise they have plenty to offer, and the willingness of visitors to think outside of the usual parameters.
A walking holiday? Why not! A heritage tour? Sure! A golf and spa break? Yes please.
So let’s make the most of a UK staycation. Just avoid calling it that.
The tourism industry has never had a better platform to showcase what it can offer