A STUDY has revealed that Brits are gearing up to enjoy the first Easter without restrictions in two years by staying in the country.
Travelodge has dubbed the holiday ‘The Great Easter Escape’ with 47 per cent of the country taking time off, 89 per cent of which are staying in the UK.
Jason Smedley runs the Royal Hotel, All Jazz Beauty Bar and My Big Fat Greek Taverna restaurant in Clacton.
He said: “To be honest, we’re very busy anyway, we’re no busier than when lockdown was lifted last year.
“Our hotel is fully booked from Thursday to Tuesday next week and the restaurant has been booked out most weekends since we reopened in February this year.”
The average holidaymaker visiting Clacton this Easter is expected to spend on average £323 and will be taking a four day break.
Collectively Brits are expected to boost the UK economy by £13 billion on their Easter breaks.
Further research findings revealed 25 per cent of Brits reported that they are taking a staycation so that they can support the UK hospitality industry and local tourism hotspots such as Clacton.
Jason added: “I wasn’t aware of that figure, if that’s the case then that is phenomenal and credit to the UK.
“We struggled a bit in January but we were expecting that, February was much busier at about 30% up on revenue than anticipated.
“The summer months are quite unpredictable because we haven’t done a summer without restrictions since I’ve taken over but we expect it to be busy.”
Shakila Ahmed, spokeswoman for Travelodge said: “Our latest Travel Index shows the Staycation is set to be big again in 2022 with the Easter kick starting the 2022 holiday season with a boost of £13 billion
“This is not only great news for the UK hospitality sector but also for also regional holiday hotspots such as Clacton which is one of top Easter destinations this year.”
The Royal hotel participated in Four in a Bed on Channel Four and saw an uptick in business because of the appearance.
You can watch the episode on All Four now.
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