Glamping goes out of fashion! Pitchup.com reveals stats from the bank holiday weekend

92% choose ‘bring your own’ accommodation over glamping
Just 1.4% choose glamping
69% visitors are families
Cornwall tops the list as most popular destination

Outdoor holiday accommodation specialist Pitchup.com has revealed stats* from its busiest weekend of the year, showing that despite the hype glamping is not quite as popular as it is perceived to be. 

Figures from the company’s own bookings show that while glamping has been popularised by the media it’s still not really caught on as the preferred choice for outdoor holiday types.  Just 1.4% of holidaymakers booked a glamping stay, putting it way behind all other types of accommodation including tents/tourers and motorhomes which accounted for 92%, lodges, cabins and pods which came in at 3.9% and static caravans which were preferred by 2.4%.

While glamping may be out of fashion, the nation’s favourite holiday spot is still Cornwall.  A quarter of bookings (25%) were for Cornwall with Devon following up at 15%. The remainder of bookings were spread across the UK with Dorset (8%), North Yorkshire (5%) and Pembrokeshire (4%) the next most popular.

Dan Yates, founder of Pitchup.com commented: “Since we launched Pitchup.com in 2009, Cornwall has always ranked top for the preferred holiday destination. However it was interesting to see North Yorkshire making an appearance in the top 5 this year – perhaps due to the effect of the Tour de France which started there earlier this year.”

He continued: “I was not really surprised by the glamping figures.  While we have an amazing glamping product range in our portfolio, our core bookings right from the outset have always come from touring, camping, static and lodge customers.  Brits are traditional types and these accommodation types have been popular for generations: statics and lodges are becoming more luxurious all the time and for those who already have the equipment, there really is nothing quite like staying in a proper motorhome, tourer or tent – whatever the weather!”

Unsurprisingly families with school age children dominated the Bank Holiday bookings with 66% in this bracket.  A further 31% were adult-only travellers followed by 3% of families with pre-school children.

For more information visit www.pitchup.com.

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* Statistics relate to bookings arriving up to Sunday 25th August and departing from Monday 26th August

For media information:

Cass Helstrip, Samantha Marsh or Rob Bates at White Tiger PR

Cass.helstrip@whitetigerpr.com 07968 255464

Samantha.marsh@whitetigerpr.com 07711 265666

Rob.bates@whitetigerpr.com 07957 316491

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, 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 19% 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.