The number of people searching for a staycation almost tripled in January, according to holiday home rental agency Sykes Holiday Cottages.  The company has revealed that searches on the 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. In particular, Britons are dreaming of staycations in Cornwall, Cumbria and North Yorkshire, with these three locations witnessing the greatest volume of bookings for 2023. Destinations witnessing a notable increase in bookings include Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Suffolk, perhaps suggesting these locations are fast becoming popular staycation spots.

In a recent poll of 1,000 UK holidaymakers, Sykes found the average Brit will take two UK breaks in 2023, with 43% still reluctant to travelling abroad in the post-pandemic world. A third (32%) say they will take a holiday this year at the expense of something else, while more than two in five (42%) acknowledge that their spending while on holiday will have to reduce.

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.”