The UK’s the place to be for 2015 says Pitchup.com

Report by the ONS reveals sustained hike in inbound tourism 

Results from Pitchup.com reveal increase in domestic and overseas bookings for its UK properties for 2014 and predicts UK 2015 will be even better!

Pitchup.com is preparing for an influx in bookings as 2015 gets set to be the biggest year so far for inbound tourism and staycation tourism remains steady.

The outdoor accommodation specialist’s booking figures are in line with Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, which have shown the highest number of holiday visits to the UK by overseas residents since the International Passenger Survey (IPS) began in 1961, and the highest recorded spending.

The ONS statistics show:

• Overseas residents made 6.4% more holiday trips to the UK in 2013 compared with 2012, leading to an historical high of 12.7m visits. The number of nights spent in the UK grew 8.4% in 2013 to a total of 79.3m overnight stays.*

• In the first 10 months of 2014, there were 12.1m inbound holiday trips to Britain, an increase of 6.6% on the same period in 2013.**

Pitchup.com’s own booking data reveals 2014 was its biggest year to date for inbound business – a market which will continue to grow. So far this year, bookings from outside Great Britain have grown 63% year-on-year.  Similarly the domestic market accounted for a new record of 250,000 customers taking a Pitchup.com holiday, mostly driven by recent back-to-back summers of warm dry weather.

In July 2014, Pitchup.com recorded over 500 inbound bookings – a figure that will be boosted by the fact that overseas visitors to the site can now view prices in four different currencies: euros, US dollars and Australian dollars as well as pounds sterling. 

Pitchup.com founder Dan Yates said: “We predict the introduction of this facility will further boost inbound tourism via Pitchup.com, as overseas guests welcome the chance to convert prices to their own currency. Deloitte expects inbound tourism to nearly triple, from over £21bn in 2013 to £57bn by 2025.***

 -ends-

* http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/travel-trends/2013/rpt-travel-trends--2013.html

**http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/overseas-travel-and-tourism---monthly-release/october-2014/stb-monthly-overseas-travel-and-tourism--provisional-results-for-october-2014.html

***http://www.visitbritain.org/britaintourismindustry/introbritainstourism/tourismmatters/index.aspx

For further information or to interview Dan Yates about Pitchup.com and its continued growth please contact:

Cass Helstrip or Samantha Marsh at White Tiger PR

Cass.helstrip@whitetigerpr.com 07968 255464

Samantha.marsh@whitetigerpr.com 07711 265666

About Pitchup.com

Founded in 2009 by former lastminute.com man, Dan Yates, multi-award winning Pitchup.com is a free guide to all types of outdoor accommodation in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Croatia, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and Switzerland.  Pitchup.com, which currently lists over 5,800 sites, provides users with a simple platform in which they can search and book an outdoor holiday with total ease: the customer journey from landing on the homepage through to booking a holiday can be completed in as little as four pages.  The site also goes beyond traditional searches by allowing users to search for accommodation based on more than 80 criteria, such as adults only and campfires allowed, and view nearby events, Good Pub Guide pubs and VisitBritain attractions.  It’s also possible to check out water bathing water quality in the surrounding area with data provided by the European Environment Agency.  Users can also search on the offers page to find the best deals available.

In 2013 Pitchup.com became the first business of its type to launch a bookable mobile app and site, making the site easily accessible to users of mobile and tablet devices.  The mobile site, m.pitchup.com, now accounts for 20% of bookings.

Pitchup.com enables users to search for all types of parks and sites from the major brands right through to one-off campsites and unique outdoor accommodation options, which may not have previously had a web presence.

Awards include Best UK Travel Website of the Year at the British Travel Press Awards 2011, and most recently Best Travel / Leisure / Sports / Mobile Strategy / Campaign at the Marketing on Mobile Awards 2014.