The number of foreign holidays taken by Brits is 16% lower than it was before the recession.
At the same time, holidays taken in England rose 12% between 2008 and 2013.
The data, from Visit England, the country’s national tourist board, may indicate that holidaymakers are still wary of overspending despite improvements in the economy.
It noted trends behind the rise in the so-called staycation. Consumers appear to be more cautious with spending, do not feel that they must seek out top-notch brands, but are looking for value for money and are willing to shop around for the best deal on a cheap holiday.
The greatest increase was in short trips consisting of one to three days. Some 29.6 million of these were taken in 2013, an increase of 17% over 2008.
Longer holidays of four to seven days also increased by 5% in those five years.
But trips for more than eight days did not change and represent less than 0.5% of total holidays taken by Brits in England.
Despite the growing interest in staycations, however, people still have “a strong perception that a holiday involves getting on a plane,” the Visit England report said. Travellers who vacation in England “are generally desperate to go abroad” the following year.
This could well have something to do with the advantages of sunny warm weather and with the decline in the value of the euro, could spell positive for the Algarve.
