Summer staycation boom on the horizon in Northumberland as Sykes reveals surge in holiday bookings

Sykes Holiday Cottages has revealed that Northumberland bookings for January are up 34% year on year in 2023.

Research commissioned by the firm also recently revealed that holiday let bookings in Northumberland were up 40% last year compared with 2019, with Alnwick, Amble and Bamburgh the county’s most popular places to visit.

Nationally, the number of people searching for a staycation almost tripled in January.

Searches on its website for UK holidays were up 274% month-on-month at the start of January, also surpassing levels seen this time last year.

As a result, bookings for its UK holiday lets this summer are currently up 28% year-on-year, with the holiday let rental agency expecting that figure to continue to grow as the summer months draw closer.

Graham Donoghue, CEO of Sykes Holiday Cottages, said: “The shift towards staycations had already begun pre-Covid, but our bookings over the past year - and during the last month in particular - would suggest that there are still no signs of this slowing.

“Uncertainty around Covid restrictions has seemingly been replaced with another worry – increased pressure on household budgets – which has encouraged some to reconsider their plans, turning to staycations as the better value option.

“Following the excitement of Christmas, holidaymakers quickly turned their attention to holiday plans for this year. We’re expecting a busy year ahead, with January pay day likely to cause yet another spike in bookings as even more people get their holiday plans for 2023 underway.”