Just like in that Mungo Jerry song we are coming up to the summertime and if in the summertime, when the weather is hot… we are all looking to enjoy the sunshine and summer break in some way.

Notwithstanding, I usually comment on business trends and economic pressures on the economy, I thought this time it may be appropriate in the prelude to summer to talk about a staycation, as this would make for a seasonal article.

Many of us at the moment, are experiencing the effect of the cost of living crisis just as we have started to emerge from the Covid crisis which has paralyzed both the economy and the world at large in terms of trade and travel.

Of late, I have seen a trend in staycation and as I said it is a combination of many factors including Covid and the cost of living. Though it may also be that people’s sentiment may have shifted towards having more shorter breaks within the UK rather than just grabbing that two weeks in the sun. I am not saying that holidays are dead I am simply saying that more people are trying to get away more often and the easiest way to do this is to get away locally even if it is just overnight.

There is compelling evidence to show that there is a real change in travel trends since the lockdowns. It has even been suggested that within the UK online searches have increased by over 500 percent compared with last year. This is further backed up by the Staycation Market Report 2021, which indicated that over 50% of this people in the UK taking a holiday would do so in the UK whether this be as I said the shorter breaks or that two weeks in the sun.

With all this talk about staycation it is no wonder that there is a very buoyant market for businesses that offer staycations. Two particular sectors that I have seen a growth in as a result of direct experience with clients is leisure on the water and caravan parks.

Both industries have one thing in common, which is once you have got over the capital commitment which is the main barrier to entry, the advantage is that they do not need a lot of labour to maintain what they do and what is noticeable is that HSBC UK Bank Plc have been spear heading finance for caravan parks throughout the country. “Ian Coulson (Area Director, Business Banking Western Midlands of HSBC) said “as a bank we do not try and follow trends but we look for clients and sectors where we can provide the best support and there are so many benefits for staycation not just the reduced environmental footprint and the money that is put back into the local economy”