UK COVID 19 Tracker

Please find below the latest figures on the Consumer Tracker Report, produced by VisitBritain.  Interesting reading!

VisitBritain’s weekly UK COVID-19 Consumer Tracker Report has been updated for a second week, based on fieldwork from 25-29 May. You can view the full report here.

Key points to note include:

• The proportion of adults expecting to take a domestic short-break or holiday by September has increased +3% to 22% since last week.
• 29% believe the worst has passed regarding Covid-19, compared to 24% last week.
• 30% of respondents expect ‘normality’ by September, and 53% by December.
• 25% consider themselves fairly or very confident they will be able to take a holiday or short-break during the peak July/August period this year. Key reasons driving this relative lack of confidence include concerns around the travel restrictions imposed by government (50%), fewer opportunities to eat or drink out (47%) and fears about actually catching CV-19 (44%).
• More people compared to last week believe they will be taking a domestic short-break or holiday by this September (22% vs 19%).
• 41% expect to be taking fewer domestic short-breaks and holidays than they did last year.
• In terms of regions to be visited between now and September, South West leads (17%) followed by North West (12%) and then Scotland and London (11% each). This translates to coastal areas (both urban and rural) making up 51% of intended destinations, followed by city/large towns (28%) and countryside/village (28%).
• Still focusing on the June-Sept period, serviced accommodation leads in terms of the type of accommodation people intend to stay in (58% overall, split between hotel/motel/inn accounting for 37% and guesthouse/B&B/farmhouse 21%). Private homes achieve a 33% share with caravan/camping on 30%.
• People are seeking reassurances from hotels, led by enhanced cleaning regimes (82%), booking incentives (79%) and social distancing measures (76%). The single most important factor is having the ability to cancel the booking free-of-charge if required.
• As restrictions lift, outdoor areas and activities (e.g. beaches, trails, theme parks) look set to attract higher than usual levels of visitors than normal, while predominantly indoor activities/venues (e.g. restaurants, spas, museums, galleries) are likely to face a lengthier period of subdued demand.