FOREST HOLIDAYS GEARS UP FOR A BUMPER
YEAR
AS MORE PEOPLE
DECIDE TO HOLIDAY IN THE UK.
As the financial
doldrums increasingly persuade people who normally holiday abroad
to stay within these shores, campsite operators across the UK are
expecting a record year.
History has proven that caravan and camping
sites do well in recessionary times as caravan owners who would
normally also take a hotel holiday abroad stay in the UK and use
their caravans much more. Also, tent sales increase because a tent
holiday in the UK is much cheaper than staying in a hotel abroad
even allowing for the cost of the tent itself – and with the added
benefit that the tent will still be available to provide
inexpensive holidays for many years to come.
One company expecting a further upturn on top
of the 23% increase in site bookings it experienced in 2008 is
Forest Holidays, which operates 21 caravan and camping sites within
Forestry Commission woodland in some of Britain’s most beautiful
locations. The company’s Marketing Manager, Carron Smith, told us
“As a caravan owner myself, my family and I have always enjoyed
holidaying in the UK and being part of Forest Holidays gives me a
great opportunity to tell people about the benefits of holidaying
within these shores. I believe that more people holidaying closer
to home will benefit the country as a whole, including the UK
tourism industry generally and Forest Holidays specifically”.
Forest Holidays sites are places where the
pace is unhurried and Mother Nature’s beauty surrounds you. There
are sites where you can participate in all manner of outdoor
activities, from hillwalking to fishing, birdwatching to mountain
biking, kayaking or skiing, or simply sit back and relax amidst the
breathtaking sights and sounds of the forest.
In the woodlands surrounding each site, you’ll
find walks for people of varying ability levels and for those
people who prefer to explore on their own, but still take advantage
of the Forest Rangers’ local knowledge, some sites even offer
purpose-designed MP3 players for hire, with forest walks
pre-loaded, included commentary on the flora and fauna, birdsong
identification, the history of the forest and much more.
Forest Holidays has also recognised that
different people want different things from a caravan and camping
site. With this in mind, the company provides a diversity of sites,
from those with only minimal facilities, right up to full-facility
sites with spotlessly clean toilet and shower facilities, a shop
and coffee shop, facilities for the disabled and much more.
Depending on the location you choose, you’ll
find forest drives and visitor centres, picnic sites and children’s
play areas, cycle routes, orienteering courses, rivers and streams,
dramatic mountains, deep valleys and peaceful forest glades. Forest
Holidays’ 21 caravan and camping sites spread from the Scottish
Highlands to England’s New Forest and the mountains of Snowdonia.
There are Forest Holidays sites midst the ancient oaks of the
Forest of Dean, in the Brecks of East Anglia and in Wiltshire’s
Savernake Forest. This is back-to-nature at its best.
Caravan and camping organisations all over the
UK are already reporting an upturn in advance bookings that make it
a safe bet that they are in for a bumper year. With holidays as
varied, innovative and enjoyable as this on offer, surely many
people will stick with caravanning or camping breaks in the UK even
after the recession is over.