The British holiday maker’s flirtation with the ‘staycation’ appears to be over with holidays to Spain enjoying a late upsurge in popularity.
Britons had been staying at home as the recession led to a rise in summer holiday belt-tightening.
But it appears the wash-out summer we've experienced this year and the strengthening of the pound have inspired the beginnings of a return to the sun-kissed beaches of the Costas, official figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute reveal.
Overnight stays by foreign tourists in Spain - mainly Britons, French and Italians - rose by 11 per cent in July this year, compared to the same time in 2009.
The figures are the first sign of a break with the staycation trend which led to sales of foreign holidays dropping by 15 per cent overall last year, according to Britain’s Office of National Statistics.
The return of Spain’s popularity was all the less surprising as it came yesterday on the same day weather forecasters warned of flash floods and heavy rainfall in Britain.
Meanwhile, temperatures reached 36c in Malaga, 37c in Valencia and 33c in Majorca.
Factors behind the home holidaying trend, which emerged last year, have been disruption to travel by the Icelandic ash cloud earlier this year, and the walk-out by British Airways cabin crew.
However, aggressive cost cutting by tour operators of up to 40 per cent seem may have helped to turn the tide.
High profile staycationers have included the Prime Minister, David Cameron, who has packed his bags for the beaches of Cornwall.
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