MAJORCA HAS A GOLDEN CHANCE FOR SUNNY SUMMER

PALMA
MAJORCA may well have currently lost its position as Britain's single most favourite holiday destination to the resort of Dalaman in Turkey but a report released yesterday in Britain has blown the lid off the success of the so-called “staycation” claiming that 56 percent of Britons have had enough of taking a gamble on hot summers back home and are going to be travelling abroad next summer.

According to the results of a market survey carried out by simonseeks.com, more than half of Britons who opted for a British summer holiday this year are heading overseas next year.

Of the 3'000 consumers polled, 56 percent said they have had enough of staycations with the British weather forecasters having got their summer outlooks wrong for the past two years.

The top destination for next year is Spain, so Majorca needs to cash in on the continued interest in Spanish destinations and fight its corner against regions like Catalonia which has enjoyed steady growth in its tourist industry over the past few years - never mind the growing competition Majorca is facing from Eastern European and North African destinations like the resorts in Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.

The United States and France are also high up the wish list, although 41 percent of Britons are going to reduce their holiday budget.
That said, Britons that have been caught by the poor summer weather at home for the past two years are so determined, over half of those polled claim they are going to cut back on going out and entertainment in order to save money for their holidays and many of the women questioned are going to wear last year's winter clothes in order to help the family money.

Others are going to postpone home improvements, take a packed lunch to work and even begin working overtime.

LATE BOOKING MARKET
But, many of the findings of the survey match what UK travel chiefs have been saying for the past few months.
It is going to be a very late booking market with two-thirds of staycation victims willing to wait in order to grab a cheap deal while it appears that Britons are going to be spending much longer in researching their destinations and prices.

Simonseeks.com said in a statement; “The research reveals a real determination to travel - especially among those who didn't take an overseas holiday in 2009. “Staycation was the buzz word of 2009 but it seems that 2010 will be more about a compromise culture with people giving up short term benefits to ensure that they can afford that holiday abroad.”