What is Staycation and what are its advantages?

AMONG THE MANY TRENDS AND CHANGES IN TOURISM TODAY, THERE IS ONE THAT IS BECOMING MORE AND MORE POPULAR AND IMPORTANT: STAYCATION TOURISM. NOW YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF: BUT WHAT IS STAYCATION?  WELL, IF YOU ARE A LOVER OF TOURISM, THE ENVIRONMENT OR IF YOU OWN A TOURISM COMPANY, THIS CONCEPT SHOULD INTEREST YOU. […]

Among the many trends and changes that tourism is undergoing today, there is one that is becoming more and more popular and important: Staycation tourism. Now you may be wondering: but what is Staycation? 

Well, if you are a lover of tourism, the environment or if you own a tourism business, this concept should interest you. Below, we will show you what this type of tourism means and what are the advantages it offers. 

What is Staycation?

Staycation has become a novel and important concept in the tourism market in the last two years. But what is it about or what does this phrase mean? The word staycation is the result of the union of two words: “stay” which means to stay and “vacation” which means vacation. That is, “vacation at home”. 

So, according to this concept, people decide to do regional, local or rural tourism; and they often travel in the same city where they live. This is a new tourism trend and has become popular as a result of the covid-19 crisis. Due to health restrictions during 2020 and 2021, people started to do tourism in their own locality. 

In this sense, locals become tourists in their own environment and visit those tourist attractions that they may have never visited before, although they were nearby and available to them.   

Growth of Staycation

There are certain factors that have influenced the growth of Staycations in the tourism market. Among these factors we can talk about the coronavirus, the high cost of living in the last years and a clearer conscience about contributing to the preservation of the planet. All of this has contributed to bring Staycation back to the market.

By June 2020, in a Bloomberg article, it was reported that specialists agreed that staycationers, generally family and leisure travelers, could help raise the occupancy rate in hotels in the U.S. and Europe. This forecast was quite accurate, since during the last two years after the pandemic, staycationers have been increasing.   

In this sense, according to a report published by HOSTELTUR in August 2022, 20% of the British, being the UK one of the main sending countries for Spain, decided not to go abroad and 16% planned a staycation in order to save more. These decisions were influenced by inflation and an increase in airline tickets.

On the other hand, HOSTELTUR reported that citizens spent 2% more on staycations, including bookings at hotels and other tourist accommodation providers within their own country.

Advantages of staycation

Staycation tourism has its benefits for both travelers and tourism business owners. Here are at least 3 of them:

Sustainability

Since sustainability has been one of the trends in the hotel industry in recent years, Staycations have a lot to contribute in this regard. And the fact is that, being local tourism, people can carry out a more sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism. 

For example, people do not need to use means of transportation such as airplanes, which produce a large proportion of greenhouse gases. 

On the other hand, less polluting means of transportation such as electric trains or electric cars can be used. 

Economy

Economic savings is another of the most obvious advantages of Staycation. And when it comes to this topic, it was the economic crisis of 2008 that gave rise to staycations in much of Europe, where inflation caused travel abroad to be undertaken by a privileged few. 

Now with the crisis left by the pandemic and with the current war between Russia and Ukraine that has led to high costs in energy consumption, Staycations are the perfect alternative to economize and continue sightseeing. 

This is beneficial for local tourism companies who can receive higher revenues due to increased demand.  

Comfort 

Comfort is also an advantage if you Staycation. You will save the stress that often comes from having to pack and organize everything for the trip. In addition, this is in addition to the possible unforeseen events that may occur at the airport, problems with the airline for issues such as flight delays or having to make stopovers, among others.

Conclusion

We can conclude that the Staycation has been reborn and this time it seems to be back to stay, and this is for several reasons: a growing awareness of sustainability among tourists, the current energy crisis in Europe and a growth of local tourism. 

Finally, we want to tell you that if you are thinking of investing in a project related to local or rural tourism you need professional advice to make your project viable. At IHCS we have the experience and professionalism you need.