Demand for caravan holiday homes at parks across Mid Wales is booming with many people from across the West Midlands, Cheshire and North West England opting for staycation holidays.
Salop Leisure, one of the UK’s leading caravan and motorhome dealerships with sales centres in Shrewsbury, Machynlleth and Stourport-on-Severn, is reporting high demand for holiday homes at both inland and coastal Mid Wales parks.
The company says sales of caravan holiday homes on some parks are significantly up on the same time last year and vacant pitches across the region are being snapped up like hotcakes.
Salop Leisure supplies caravan holiday homes and luxury lodges to more than 100 holiday home parks across Powys, Ceredigion and the Meirionnydd region of Gwynedd.
To highlight the demand for pitches, one coastal park reported 60 pre-booked appointments in the first week after reopening following the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. An inland Mid Wales park reported 16 new customer enquiries on the first day of reopening.
“Pitches that were vacant on many Mid Wales parks at the start of the year are now full and my message to anyone thinking about investing in a caravan holiday home is to act quickly to avoid disappointment,” said Salop Leisure’s managing director Dylan Roberts.
“Since the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Wales, parks across Mid Wales have reported high demand from new customers, with up to 80% of enquiries coming from first time buyers.
“The feedback we are receiving is that customers are planning to holiday in Mid Wales for the foreseeable future, not just this year. COVID-19 and also Brexit are key considerations when people are planning their future holidays.
“Staycationing is definitely a strong trend and Mid Wales seems to be a very popular destination, which is great news for the region’s tourism industry and all associated businesses.
“Many small businesses across Mid Wales who rely on tourism have suffered at the hands of cheap flights and European package holidays in recent years. The tables could now be turned.
“Uncertainty about airlines, restrictions on foreign travel and the progress of the pandemic in other countries makes people apprehensive about leaving this country.”
Mr Roberts explained that parks and businesses across the region were delighted to welcome back existing customers who had been longing to return to their holiday homes.
Salop Leisure and all of the parks are asking customers to stay safe by strictly observing public health advice, abiding by the social distancing rules in place in Wales, which differ to England and being respectful to local communities.
“It’s reassuring to know that most holiday home parks have achieved “We’re Good To Go” status, the official UK mark to signal that a tourism and hospitality business has worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines and has a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing,” he added.
“The caravan industry is perfectly placed to cater for families who value quality time together. Caravans holiday homes are such an attractive proposition as they are able to safely facilitate quality family holidays.
“Even before the pandemic, the feedback we were getting from customers was that they were looking for better value for money and more flexibility with their holiday requirements for the future.”
