Dad-of-three searches for family holiday in Cornwall - and finds quote for £71,000
Yorkshire councillor Paul Nickerson believes some companies are taking advantage of the coronavirus travel restrictions
Last updated 9th Jul 2021
A dad-of-three from up country has come across a quote for £71,000 for a week's holiday in Cornwall!
Paul Nickerson was searching for family breaks online when he came across the property in St Ives.
The councillor from the East Riding of Yorkshire thinks UK companies are taking advantage of the soon-to-be-lifted coronavirus restrictions on foreign travel.
"Prices across the board are astronomical - sometimes 200/300% what they normally would be".
"We were just searching for a getaway, a week's holiday for the family. I've got three kids under five so me and my wife were looking to get away maybe during the summer holidays.
"We were searching online, noticed that everything was quite costly and then came across this property in St Ives for £71,000. A three-bedroom property. Yes it was near the beach. It wasn't a luxury one but it was quite nice".
Paul knows this is an extreme example, but has told us it is not the only one!
"Prices across the board are astronomical at the moment - sometimes 200/300% what they normally would be.
"So another example might be last year we had a caravan in South Devon which was £750 for the week during August. That exact same booking for the week this year when we enquired was £3,500".
Paul added: "The holiday industry has been really hard-hit by Covid, there's no doubt.
"Most travel agents or holiday companies don't get income if people aren't going on holiday, it's as simple as that. Their businesses, their employees have all really, really struggled so consequently it's been very, very hard for those companies".
Despite understanding the struggle facing the UK holiday industry, Paul believes this is an opportunity to get more people taking so-called staycations.
"People seem to be trapped in this spiral of inflation, if you like, if you want to holiday in the UK which I think is quite a short-term approach for businesses because I think they could really sell the idea and the memory of a UK holiday to people who would normally go to Spain or other places".
"My opinion is that a British holiday or a UK holiday is really unique; there's something really special about it.
"A lot of people have, over the last few years, taken to going abroad and I think this is an opportunity for travel companies to get people to really appreciate the beauty of a UK holiday".
For this year, Paul said he is happy to stay local: "Believe it or not, because of the publicity from Twitter we've probably been sent over 100 different holiday accommodations to look at but we've decided to stay in good old East Yorkshire. The prices have gone up here as well but not quite as much and there's a lot up here to do".
East Riding Councillor, Paul Nickerson