VisitEngland predicts 3% drop in number of August Bank holiday hotel and B&B stays

When questioned about their plans for the August Bank Holiday and the two weeks either side, just 9 per cent of respondents said they were planning to spend at least one night away for leisure. Another 2 per cent said they were planning to stay away for business.

Overall, 19 per cent of the one thousand adults surveyed said they were planning a night away from home in Britain, either staying in accommodation, or visiting friends and relatives, a 5 per cent drop on last year.

Belt-tightening​

The news of the drop in planned trips away will be no surprise to many. A survey by Travelodge earlier in the year found that 41 per cent of people are finding it harder to make ends meet this year with many waiting to the last minute to book breaks.

VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: “We know that over half the population plan to take more breaks at home than they did in the past, however this year we have seen clear indications from the industry that people are tightening their belts. This means we as an industry need to keep working extremely hard to ensure that when people make a decision to go on holiday or take a short break, England is at the top of the list.”

Although the number of people planning to take a break in the UK during the last two weeks of August has dropped on the previous year, figures show that there are also less Brits planning to travel outside the UK during that time with figures down 1 per cent on 2010's.