THE number of people booking of people who booked to stay with a holiday company has grown dramatically since 2019 despite foreign travel re-opening after Covid.
Sykes Holiday Cottages analysed booking figures for its 20,000 properties across the UK and found a 38 per cent in Hampshire bookings compared to 2019.
Lyndhurst, Fordingbridge and Lymington proved to be Hampshire’s most popular travel spots according to the data from the holiday let rental agency.
Further analysis, conducted by Oxford Economics on behalf of Sykes Holiday Cottages and The Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA), showed short-term holiday lets across the UK have had a positive economic impact over the last few years.
READ MORE: Winchester LGBT: ONS figures revealed
The amount of money spent by those visiting short-term holiday lets in the south east reached a record £2bn in 2021, with tourists typically spending a combined total of more than 12.9m nights in short-term accommodation across the region each year.
The short-stay tourism industry injected £2.2bn into the South East’s economies in 2021 alone, representing 0.7 per cent of the area’s entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021.
More than 33,000 people throughout the south east are now employed in jobs linked to the short-term let industry – working as hosts or for restaurants and tourist attractions.
Chief executive of Sykes Holiday Cottages, Graham Donoghue, said: “With the popularity of staycations not expected to subside anytime soon, there’s every reason to believe that the positive economic impact of short-term lets within Hampshire will remain equally strong in the years to come.
SEE ALSO: Hampshire Cultural Trust could let go up to 20 staff members due to economic crisis
“Our recent report with Oxford Economics is the most in-depth study that’s ever been conducted on the impact of the sector and really demonstrates the importance of short-term lets to regional economies across the country – with record bookings in 2022 likely to have made this even more so the case last year.
“The industry supports local jobs and pours in millions of pounds of guest spend annually, with visitors opting to eat at local independent pubs and restaurants, explore little-known tourist attractions, and spend their money on holiday souvenirs.
“We’ve made it our mission to ensure the sustainable growth of the sector. This includes working closely with stakeholders, including holiday homeowners, to ensure properties are let in a responsible way that benefits local communities, instead of second homes laying empty.”
For more go to sykescottages.co.uk/blog/short-term-lets-economic-impact-report/.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here