European tourists are invading our shores
By Darren Cronian on Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Rush out and book your deckchair before they run out because the United Kingdom is set to become the new Costa del Sol as Europeans flock to the UK. Well that’s what online travel agency, Lastminute.com reckon is happening.

European tourists to land on our shores

We’ll fight them on the beaches

Oh dear, I have this image in my head of an Englishman with his union jack shorts on fighting over a deckchair with a German tourist. Have you seen the weather out there, it’s torrential rain, more rain in a day, than some countries have in a month.

Tourist statistics

» French visitors to the UK have increased by nearly 10 percent
» Visitors from Italy to the UK have risen by 11 percent
» Holidaymakers from Spain are up by 16 percent

UK Managing Director John Bevan said: “The UK’s popularity this summer is amazing. The UK appears to be the place to be for all of Europe’s nationalities.” I can imagine the Italians thinking that they will give Tuscany a miss this year and they’ll head to Weston Super Mere instead.

Short breaks growing in popularity

For short breaks I can understand why cities like London and Edinburgh are popular, but to suggest that the UK is going to be the new Costa del Sol, with it’s sandy beaches, blue skies, warm weather is ridiclous, and it’s not going to stop me going abroad. Get me out of here.

Am I being unfair or am I right that it seems that travel companies have lost the plot this summer.


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10 responses to “European tourists are invading our shores”

Karen Bryan | 11 July, 2008 at 8:31 am

I think that the increase in value of the Euro against the pound could have a lot to do with the increase of visitors from Euro Zone countries such as France, Italy and Spain.

Kevin May | 11 July, 2008 at 8:51 am

surely “invading”??

Adrian | 11 July, 2008 at 9:20 am

I’m off to France for a couple of weeks this summer, so there will be a bit more room here for the invaders.

In Bournemouth during the summer its always unusual to hear a local accent, its become very cosmopolitan in recent years, with the language schools for learners of English, and the fact that most of the hotels are staffed by people from other EU countries.
I did try to learn a bit of Polish from a girl that worked in the Ice Cream Hut on the beach last year - she was doing holiday work to fund her university degree in economics and Chinese. I gave up with the lessons after she told me that she thought that Polish was harder to learn than Chinese.

Bon Voyage

Darren Cronian | 11 July, 2008 at 9:51 am

Note to self: Do not write blog posts at 11pm when you should be tucked up in bed.

@ Kev,

Thanks, yes, erm, typo :)

@ Karen

True, but how much are umbrella’s lately? :)

@ Adrian

True, I live in Leeds, and all we hear are Yorkshire folk, I obviously need to get out more!

Jami | 11 July, 2008 at 1:24 pm

But still we are not seen this trend, still spain is much better than Uk destinations

Toby Walshster | 11 July, 2008 at 2:38 pm

We’re seeing the same trend through our site - we think the strength of the Euro is having a major impact as we’re seeing a surge in Europeans booking out caravans and motorhomes in the UK.

Nomadic Matt | 11 July, 2008 at 8:53 pm

I don’t think I’d ever consider the UK a beach destination given that there are so few sunny days there. I agree with Toby that its probably the rise of the euro that has made the UK more affordable and hence why there are so many more tourists.

Andrea Wren | 11 July, 2008 at 8:57 pm

The Costas we’ll never be, but it still amazes me that Blackpool is Britain’s number one seaside resort - there’s clearly nowt more queer than folk, and maybe the Europeans had all booked before they knew about the rain (though doesn’t it always rain here?)?

Darren Cronian | 12 July, 2008 at 1:54 pm

@ Jami

I would agree. Yes, the UK has some nice cities, but they don’t compare to cities like Barcelona, Madrid, and then Granada and what I call real Spain, not the touristy spots on the coast.

@ Matt

It’s not a beach destination, but whilst I like to see attractions and get around the destination, I like the thought of walking to the beach, having a swim in the sea, and having a little sunshine. Everyone is different though.

@ Andrea

Yes, Blackpool is a dive, sorry, but its rundown, and only visited by stag and hen parties, and that’s probably why it’s a popular seaside destination. It’s certainly not for families anymore. Don’t get me wrong I’ve had many a good weekend getting drunken in Blackpool when I was younger, but it’s not a place I would go now.

@ Toby

Interesting. Can you back up any stats with regard to the increase in motorhome, or caravan rentals in the UK? Would be interesting to cover this on the blog if you could back up your statement.

Rohan | 13 July, 2008 at 11:27 pm

Good Luck to them.

I am sure they will love walking around London, Edinburgh and laid on the beach in torrential rain. Forecasters say that we are in for another summer of rain, dullness and more rain.

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