Domestic accommodation owners have been urged to grasp the opportunities offered by the booming UK short break market.
Hoseasons chief executive Richard Carrick claimed short break sales had surged by 3O% in 2OO7 despite flooding and foot and mouth which hit bookings in the summer.
He said that while there is demand for a significant number of shorter duration holidays, one of the main constraints was accommodation owners only wanting to accept seven-night stays.
“We are trying to actively encourage accommodation owners to recognise the value of short breaks,” he said at the ABTA Travel Convention in Tenerife.
Carrick added that without the record rainfalls in parts of the country which led to people holidaying abroad, the UK would have seen its best ever year.
The surge in three and four-night breaks was being led by people driving less than two hours from home, he estimated.
Carrick identified the trend towards more short breaks and a drive towards improved quality as the two major trends affecting domestic tourism.
The self-catering operator has launched a range of high quality lodge holidays under the Autograph brand, based on Scandinavian-style cottages in Devon, Oxfordshire, Shropshire and Yorkshire.
by Phil Davies
