Holiday makers turning to the Internet to escape British weather

The “barbeque summer” is an official wash out, with staycations quickly becoming a thing of the past. Holidaymakers across the UK are searching for cheap holidays abroad to enjoy the sun elsewhere.

When the nation was confident there was going to be a warmer summer, holiday destinations such as Butlins and Haven reported record booking numbers, as holidaymakers strove to save money during the recession by staying in the UK. However, since the Met office’s admission that the summer will be wet, travel websites have noted a surge in searches for holidays abroad. Travel firm Lastminute.com said interest in “staycation” holidays in Britain had peaked in June, when searches on its website for UK destinations surpassed those for Spain.

“You can definitely tell the holiday season is here, but the British summer isn’t!” stated Ed Wilkinson, VoucherSeeker director. “Where as recently we have had voucher codes for tents from Littlewoods and outdoor furniture from B&Q listed for those staying at home, we are now seeing more people searching on the site for holiday bargains from such companies as Thomson and Park Resorts for those wanting to get away. That’s not to say that people are entirely focused on travel: Vodafone promotional codes and Currys discount codes continue to be popular.”

Established high street retailers are also seeing the benefit of summer spending. “We found Voucher Seeker extremely beneficial to our business – experiencing a conversion rate of nearly 10 percent in the period of activity with them,” noted Kevin Barnes, web manager for BHS.

Top destinations sun seekers are now traveling to Turkey and Egypt. Holiday makers are choosing to take all inclusive holidays to avoid the higher cost of Europe, thanks to the weaker pound which has seen European destinations up to 30 percent more expensive than previous years.

The quarterly e-Customer Service Index Survey (source: eDigitalResearch/IMRG) found that almost 90 percent of people perceive the Internet to have the lowest prices and that 60 percent said the current economic climate made it more likely that they would hunt for bargains. Money-off discounts was by far the favorite type of offer, accounting for 60.4 percent of people, ahead of free delivery on 21.5 percent, two for one purchases (16.2 percent), and free gifts (1.8 percent).

Promotional code sites offer holidaymakers a range of discount vouchers for money off holidays. Whether users are booking a holiday from travel agents such as Thomson, deciding to book flights from Jet2 and Expedia, or looking for somewhere to rest their head at hotels such as Hilton, voucher code sites provide plenty of discount codes for money off, ensuring users make savings.

On average, parents spend GBP5.3 billion on entertaining their children over the holidays. The cost of keeping boredom at bay continues to increase as parents spend an average of GBP500 on games, day trips, and activities, not to mention GBP158 per child going on trips away from home, research by Sainsburys has found.

Whether people are planning a quick getaway to the sun, or simply to keep their children busy over the holidays, it seems that voucher code sites continue to provide Britons with the opportunity to save money.

www.voucherseeker.co.uk