Jeff Mills Coastal Vacations Club Blog

Although the travel industry is abuzz with the idea of the “staycation“, news from Wales indicates that the current poor strength of the pound against the euro hasn’t discouraged holidaymakers from booking a journey to sunnier climes.

Recent reports show an 11% increase in the number of Welsh tourists set to travel to the Canary Islands in August.The popular resort of Menorca is reporting a significant increase in booking numbers this year, and Malaga in Southern Spain is set to see a rise of 8% in visitor numbers.

All this is bad news for local businesses like hotels, B&B’s and hostels, who are reporting their advanced bookings for this year as being the same or down from 2008 figures. 

Other businesses, however, are sure to experience pleasant increases in customer numbers and, as a result, revenues.  With more people leaving Wales for a few days in the sun, outfits such as Cardiff Airport parking services and even shops and restaurants in and around the airport are bound to reap the benefits.Of course, budget airline companies are set to enjoy increased passenger numbers, thanks to their competitive fares.

Crawford Rix, managing director of low-cost airline BMIbaby said, “We are seeing strong demand from passengers for sunshine destinations, with Alicante, Palma and Malaga topping our lists from Cardiff.”  He went on to report that passengers travelling from Cardiff to Malaga are up 8%, and those travelling to Palma are up by 11% in July, compared to this time last year.  “This proves that people still want their summer sunshine holiday,” he said.

Each year, more than 10 million tourists from the UK flock to Spain, but some experts think that number could slide by as much as 20%.  Travel writer David Atkinson said, “Staycation is still the buzz word within the industry, and this is where the main focus lies.”

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