Home advantage

With restrictions continuing to ease - as they do today - the tourism sector is at last beginning to recover.

It is the rise of staycations, local city breaks and weekend retreats to other parts of the country that will be the key focus for the next year, and perhaps even longer. Whilst there will likely be support from the government via their new tourism plan, brands and operators can take advantage of this change in demand.

We look at the three main types of offerings that exist, and the opportunities each have:

New attractions in micro markets
We have recently seen a host of new and planned developments. This rise in demand from UK residents is providing a platform from which leisure/holiday brands and operators can increase their presence and offerings within less notable parts of the country. Recent developments include Center Parcs in Crawley, Bewilderwood in Cheshire (seen above) and the new planned theme park on the Swanscombe Peninsula. These examples provide potential for areas that can become tourist destinations, and though we will need to see how this may translate into performance, it is clear that building new tourist attractions in micro markets is a current focus of investment.

Develop complementary offerings
Some tourist destinations need to expand their offerings to increase visitation. We have seen this in numerous locations over several years. From the more established Thermae Bath Spa (which complements and highlights the Roman Baths) to the more recent St James Quarter development in Edinburgh, these locations bring additional commercial and leisure offerings to visitors which drive further footfall and potentially sales. 

From opening new shopping malls, to introducing unique F&B offerings for gastronomes and work/livingspace for business and leisure travellers, the variety of potential offerings is vast. In a market that is becoming increasingly competitive, existing players need to reassess and revitalise their offerings to remain attractive.

Leverage current positioning and strengths
Beauty spots such as Cornwall, the Cotswolds and the Scottish Highlands as well as historic cities such as London and Edinburgh, rarely fail to attract swathes of visitors year on year, and barring government restrictions, this will continue.

In these locations investors and operators of hotels and holiday homes/residences and camping sites can take advantage of the local surroundings, geography, history and the footfall and visitors they bring without necessarily needing to be an attraction in their own right. Leveraging the strengths of popular areas can provide lucrative benefits, although these markets often involve higher costs of entry and significant competition.

The majority of these ideas are not new. From Butlins to B&Bs, the UK tourism market has been developing and changing continuously for decades. There is undoubtedly more to consider when attempting to tackle the domestic tourism market, and each brand will have different requirements and deliberations that need to be made. However, with the unprecedented changes we see today, it is clear that the domestic market provides a significant opportunity both now and in the future.

Tejas Panchal