Lake District Holiday Cottages bookings ROCKET!!

News
Massive Rise in UK Holiday Accommodation Bookings
17/01/2008

Headlines warning of credit crunches and personal debt crises haven’t dampened British spirits, with holiday bookings in the UK already up 100% on January 2007.

Traditionally, January and February are the peak months for booking foreign holidays, but this year Brits are staying closer to home, with a phenomenal increase in bookings for holidays within the UK, according to accommodation booking site www.iknow-uk.com.

“In the week including the New Year bank holiday, our sites received 126,000 visitors; double the same period last year,” said Managing Director of iknow-uk Marcus Simmons. “The first full working week – touted as the most popular week for holiday bookings - we were up over 150,000. I think we’ll be calling January ‘the great escape’ from now on, as everyone plans their time away from work.”

The area attracting the most interest was the Lake District, with Wales and Scotland not far behind.

Bookings outside the UK have been booming too, especially for long-haul destinations.

“January is traditionally a peak booking time for summer holidays, but Monday [7th January] saw unprecedented levels of enquiries and bookings,” says Gareth Hockey, marketing manager for holiday accommodation provider alpharooms.com, which recorded an 84% increase in bookings compared with this time last year.

Hockey pointed to huge increases in bookings to tropical destinations in particular, such as Malaysia, Mexico and the Caribbean, showing that Brits are keener than ever to guarantee themselves some good weather following last year’s rainy summer.