Some good news for owners of Holiday Homes in the United Kingdom, it looks like the Staycation, is here to stay for a while. More and more Brits are holidaying at home as the effects of the recessions continue to play havoc with the numbers of persons travelling abroad. Although the recessions now appears to be unwinding in the United Kingdom, people are displaying a cautious approach to spending money and are now seeking better value holidays at home. The days of the cheap holiday abroad may be over for the foreseeable future.
New data recently released by the Office for National Statistics shows that the United Kingdoms outbound market fell at the fastest rate on record last year. The drop in 2009 was 15% compared to 2008. Business travel, was the main casualty, this sector of the market fell by nearly 25%, with many companies abandoning all but essential travel. This is the largest slump since records began in the 1970s. Statistics also show that those still travelling abroad were taking longer trips. This points to a slow down in the economy short break market, which enjoyed rapid growth following the advent of the budget airlines.
There was good news for the United Kingdoms domestic tourism industry; over half a million more visitors (up to 11.4 million) took a holiday here in 2009, pushing the value of this industry up to £16.6 billion. Scotland was the main beneficiary.
It also seems that overseas holidays are being were ditched in favour of a holiday at home. Many people opted to simply stay in their own homes and enjoy day trips, or booked a stay in one of the large number of holiday properties that this country has to offer. Take away the associated costs of holidaying abroad and many Brits are waking up to the fact that a holiday in their own country is a real money saver.
However, before we all rush out and buy holiday homes to rent out, it’s worth touching on a new outlook report from Price Waterhouse Coopers, they feel that property prices may not recover for at least another ten years and that the possibility of a double dip recession cannot not be ruled, also prices of homes may drop further. The ‘real terms’ forecast by Price Waterhouse Coopers includes consumer pricing adjustments that take into account the goods and services you can buy in 2020 compared with 2007. There is a 70pc chance of prices falling further in real terms by 2015 and a 50pc chance of a continued downward trend by 2020.
Perhaps we have at last seen the end of property purchase purely for short term speculation, anyone wishing to buy property for holiday home usage, should perhaps view the purchase as a long term Investment and take appropriate advice from an accountant as to the most tax efficient way of investing in property.
