“A lot of holidaymakers are waiting now for the weather forecast before deciding whether to go on holiday or not.”
A growing trend of Brits booking getaways last minute, as well as a rise in people taking shorter breaks, is having a mixed impact on Welsh tourism businesses.
As well as the unpredictable weather, saving money is also thought to be a key factor driving this change in behaviour, as well as wanting to get the most from their time away, according to industry experts.
This means some, such as campsite owners, are seeing a spike in bookings, but those with holiday let properties said this shift in priorities was hitting them hard.
“We have seen it growing in the last decade,” said Linda Osti, senior lecturer in tourism at Bangor University.
“As a society we are moving towards this ‘I want to have more’, so [we] wait to the last minute to see what’s better.”
She also said this meant people keeping a keen eye on the weather forecast before “deciding whether to go on holiday or not”.
Adam Owen and his partner Nia Evans, from Caernarfon, are good examples of people doing just that, as well as being part of a growing trend of families choosing to stay local.
“When the weather’s nice we just decide, last moment, to come,” explained Adam, while enjoying a few days’ break with his three children at Riverside Camping just outside their hometown.
“Although we’re only five minutes from the house, it just feels like a break.”
Riverside Camping is run by Catherine Hummel and her family, and said last-minute getaways for those on a smaller budget brought a real boost.
“Longer stays are easier because it’s less moving about on the field, comings and goings, but the short, last-minute stays, fill in the gaps.
“It does bring extra trade and we like seeing local trade as much as people from further afield… so it’s a real mix.”
The British Holiday and Homes Park Association said there had been “a discernible shift away from week-long and fortnight-long holidays which has been evident for the past few years”.
It added: “However, this perhaps simply reflects the way people now use their leisure time, preferring to take shorter breaks but more of them throughout the year and re-charging their batteries on a more regular basis over the four seasons.”
Booking.com said the number of people looking in July for a break during the six-week school holiday was up 23% on 2024.
Sykes Holiday Cottages, which has 23,000 properties across the UK, said the gap between when people book and when they go on holiday had fallen by 8% this year.
But this trend is hitting many of those running traditional holiday lets hard, according to the Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASC) UK.
“People are now booking much shorter holidays which means they are not filling all the weeks, so you’ve got dead days that you can’t fill in a week,” according to Nicky Williamson, its lead policy advisor in Wales.
“The shorter breaks have as much work in them as a longer break – you’re still paying for the change overs, you’re still paying for the linen. You’ve still got the same amount of work for a one-night stay as a seven-night stay.”
PASC said a growing number of shorter breaks made it harder for holiday let operators to achieve occupancy rates of 182 days over the year.
If they do not hit this figure, they face paying extra council tax as owners of a second property or holiday home.
But Ms Osti said this change to short break, last-minute holidays was being seen across Europe and only looked likely to grow.
