Restaurants, pubs get boost as staycations boom
The holidaying at home trend also brought with it a bump to tourist sites across the UK.
With international travel restricted, consumers opted to spend their holiday money closer to home, including trips to their favourite local pubs, restaurants and takeaway coffees.
New data from Cardlytics saw restaurants and eateries getting +30% average growth in spend each month in the first half of 2021, whilst spend at coffee shops jumped 20% in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year.
The holidaying at home trend also brought with it a bump to tourist sites across the UK, helped by the easing of restrictions on outdoor entertainments in April. Spend at UK attractions grew by +66% on average each month in the first half of 2021.
“The popularity of staycations this summer has been a major help for many British brands across sectors. UK-based travel and hospitality businesses will be hoping that they’ll be able to hold on to some of these new customers in the long run, while pubs and restaurants will breathe a sigh of relief for this boost in spending, after what has been a difficult year for the industry,” Hannah Collins, Cardlytics’ travel partnerships director, explained.
“However, faced with changing government restrictions, airlines and tour operators have a difficult journey ahead as we look towards the end of the summer holiday season. They will face a tricky challenge of navigating government rules while trying to give consumers the confidence to book."
Spending on UK holiday camps also grew +48% on average each month in the first half of the year. The easing of international quarantine restrictions on 9 July also led to a +28% spike in consumer spending on airlines.
Consumers choosing to stay closer to home this year amid changing travel restrictions also drove a +16% year-on-year increase in spend on holiday camps in the first half of the year.
Spend at holiday lets and country cottages outperformed pre-pandemic demand as consumers opted for rural retreats. Spend at holiday cottages also overtook pre-pandemic levels, with spend up +38% in the first half of 2021 compared to 2020, and up +4% on 2019.
Spend on airlines fell -69% year-on-year in the first half of this year, whilst spend on tour operators and package holidays fell by -73%.
