Micro-staycations: why are people holidaying an hour away from home?

Rising living costs and global uncertainty are reshaping British holiday habits, pushing a shift toward “micro-staycations” within 100 miles of home, according to new data from the UK’s Camping and Caravanning Club [1]. The club, which counts 730,000 members, reported a 6% increase in members travelling between 51 and 100 miles to their holiday destination this year [1]. At the same time, the average distance travelled by members dropped by 7% compared with last year [1]. The figures point to a deliberate pullback in travel range rather than a decline in leisure trips. The trend extends beyond campsites. Airbnb’s latest travel forecast noted that UK staycations are surging as households face budget constraints, with travellers booking stays in inland locations such as Harrow, Stirling, Stretford, and Milton Keynes [1]. These destinations offer lower prices and more space while remaining within reach of major cities [1]. Rebecca Humphrey, a caravanning enthusiast quoted by the Daily Mail, described the appeal of nearby getaways. “I think a lot of people think you’ve got to travel really far to all these amazing places, but actually there’s always so many gorgeous places on your doorstep that you might not have heard about,” she said [1]. The concept of the staycation is not new, but the shortening radius marks a departure from pre-pandemic patterns when low-cost airlines expanded the weekend-break map. The current compression of holiday distance mirrors a longer historical pattern of leisure travel adapting to economic pressure, though the term “micro-staycation” is a recent coinage [1]. The Camping and Caravanning Club’s membership base, larger than many city populations, gives the data substantial weight in tracking domestic tourism shifts [1]. The figures do not capture whether travellers are substituting foreign trips or simply taking shorter breaks, but the simultaneous rise in short-range trips and fall in average distance suggests a structural change in how Britons plan their time off [1].