Expedia reveals surging summer demand for UK holiday hotspots

Expedia Group has revealed that UK hoteliers enjoyed another summer of growth, fuelled by a positive rise in demand from domestic travellers choosing a staycation for their holiday.

According to the data, the demand for trips made by domestic travellers increased significantly by just over 10% when compared to the same period last year. South Wales was the fastest-growing destination this summer with over 35% year-on-year visitor growth, showing that more UK holidaymakers chose to stay on home soil.

In addition to Wales, hoteliers in a number of English regions experienced double-digit growth, including the Cotswolds (over +20% year on year), a corner of the country which is rising in popularity, and Yorkshire (also almost +20% year on year), which is investing in local tourism innovation to drive visitors.

Other top performing cities climbing the list of holiday hotspots this summer included Cambridge, Manchester and East Anglia, which each experienced notable growth of nearly +20% year-on-year.

“The opportunity to capitalise by attracting new visitors”

Helen Maher, director of market management, London at Expedia Group, said: “It’s very exciting to see such bright growth in demand over the summer period and positive performance for hoteliers across the UK. The emergence of new hotspots gives accommodation providers in the area the opportunity to capitalise by attracting new visitors.

“With the festive season now upon us, we expect hoteliers will enjoy another busy period as international visitors come to enjoy the UK and celebrate Christmas. The strong growth of cities outside of London in the third quarter of the year is also hugely encouraging, demonstrating that our proposition of providing hotel partners with a global reach is helping to capture visitors and drive conversions.”