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'Staycations' on the rise in Winchester

30 September, 2011

Winchester is feeling the benefit of the great British ‘staycation’.

Businesses in the city have reported a healthy summer of tourism and are seeing the staycation – British people holidaying in Britain rather than abroad due to the economic situation – in action. They are also spending more than before according to figures released by Winchester Business Improvement District last week.

Surveys found that each visitor to Winchester spent £18.29 on average in 2008, but that has risen to £28.91 this summer. Footfall counting machines also said 277,635 people walked up the High Street during the past six weeks. BID executive director Chris Turner said: “Winchester has always been a wonderful location for visits and holiday. “Traditionally some four million visitors a year have come to the city and we are expecting this to continue to grow as more and more people stay in and around the city, visit our superb attractions, eat in our restaurants and spend time in our wide range of exciting shops.” Of nearly 500 visitors surveyed by the BID, around 40 per cent lived nearby and 55 per cent elsewhere in the UK.

Winchester City Council reported a fall in tourist information centre visitors between May and July at 43,378 compared to last year’s 43,964, but a significant jump in total enquiries, including phone and email, from 164,988 to 262,887. The district’s hotels are reporting increased numbers of UK tourists, who are staying longer. They are also noting that holidaymakers are looking for a last minute bargain.

Sales manager for Winchester’s Holiday Inn Sarah Waddington said she had seen more British holidaymakers and from further afield like Yorkshire. “I do think it’s a case of families staying in the UK,” she said. “We have had a lot of families staying that would have perhaps been going abroad, but because of the money people are staying at home.” She said the summer season had been really successful, with on average three to four night stays.

Ashton Grey, owner of the Old Vine restaurant and hotel, on Great Minster Street, said he had seen more British people holidaying, particularly wanting one night stays.

“There’s a lot of people who just seem to be doing this sort of last minute getaway, they’re not committing to things until a lot later in the day,” he added. “Certainly in the last month people are literally turning up at the door saying ‘have you got any accommodation?’” He said the British tourists were cannier. “In previous years they might not have been so interested in the offers,” he said. “We have noticed it’s quite weather dependent, Brits seem to hedge their bets, they’re just holding off until the last minute, we have had a few enquiries from people asking what’s the weather like.” He said they had had a healthy summer so far on a par with last year.

Some of Winchester’s holiday attractions, Marwell Wildlife, Intech and Winchester Cathedral, said they had had a good summer.

As to the reasons behind the influx of British tourists, Mr Grey said people want to calculate their holiday costs. “I really do think it’s something to do with people’s finances, knowing they don’t have to convert money into another currency and have uncertainty,” he said. “There’s more certainty they can plan it better and budget it better.”

Mrs Waddington said it appeared people were trying out new places like Winchester, and using it as a base for Hampshire with Paulton’s Park, Portsmouth and the New Forest so close. She added that the number of major summer events in Winchester had helped like the Motocross Brand Prix, Boomtown Fair and Hat Fair. However, she did believe that another factor could be the Peppa Pig effect – Peppa Pig World at Paulton’s Park. She said: “We do have a lot of children that check in with Peppa Pig under their arm. It’s brought a different group of people into the area that perhaps wouldn’t have come down before.”

http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/9238165._Staycations__on_the_rise_in_Winchester/