Survey reveals UK’s most popular holiday destinations
Holidaylettings.co.uk, the UK’s leading holiday rental website, has released its figures showing which UK towns are most popular with holidaymakers – trends that are set to continue throughout 2014.
Newcastle tops the rankings
The Holiday Lettings top 10 list features an eclectic mix of destinations – some of which may come as a surprise. While Newcastle topped the rankings as most in demand UK city last year, the greatest increase in enquiries was experienced by Sheffield, followed by seaside town Lytham St Annes.
Newcastle has seen massive investment since the millennium and its popularity stems from a unique blend of world-class culture, shopping, dining and nightlife. But it’s arguably the latter for which Newcastle is most famous. The Rough Guide proclaimed that Newcastle’s nightlife was the country’s No. 1 tourist attraction – with numerous clubs and bars to suit all tastes along the redeveloped Quayside, the glitzy ‘Diamond Strip’ and the Bigg Market, synonymous with stag and hen parties.
In addition to its party scene, Newcastle has more theatres per head than any other UK city. It is home to the UK’s largest city centre shopping complex (Eldon Square), Europe’s largest indoor shopping and leisure centre (the intu MetroCentre), northern England’s only IMAX cinema, Grey Street (previously voted the best street in Britain), and the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art – the largest gallery of its kind in the world.
More UK cities see growth in holiday lettings enquiries
Runner-up Glasgow experienced a 220 per cent growth in enquiries and an increase in demand of over 120 per cent – outperforming popular tourist destination Edinburgh.
In third place was Liverpool, followed by the village of Tattershall in Lincolnshire, whose current Lord of the Manor is Julian Fellowes, writer of the hit TV drama Downton Abbey. The Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water, meanwhile, saw an increase in demand of 25 per cent.
But it was Sheffield – ranked number six on the list – that witnessed the greatest increase in interest, with a staggering 537 per cent growth in enquiries and an increase in demand per home of 243 per cent. The city’s proximity to the Peak District – one of the world’s most visited national parks – and easy access to public transport makes it an ideal base for holidaymakers.
Further south, demand in Winchester and Brighton and Hove was up by over 10 per cent, while Portsmouth’s popularity grew by 30 per cent during the same period. But it was the Lancashire conurbation of Lytham St Annes, sneaking into the tenth spot, which saw the next highest growth after Sheffield with a demand increase of 149 per cent.
