England
On the 22nd of February 2021, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, held a press conference where he detailed the roadmap out of lockdown.
This is great news for the glamping industry, that has caused bookings for sites across the UK to skyrocket. Following the Prime Minister’s roadmap announcement, glamping bookings have beaten all previous records, according to Canopy & Stars, as people rush to book self-catering and glamping staycations as soon as possible. The 22nd of February was the biggest booking day in Canopy & Stars’ 10 year history, beating the record set following the July 4th announcement by 200%. April has taken over as the most popular month for bookings too, beating July & August.
Mike Bevens, Managing Director of Canopy & Stars, says; “It’s a huge relief that self-catering accommodation is set to open in April, and we’re glad to now have clarity from the government about a date that we can work towards for our guests and accommodation owners. As the stats show, guests are obviously reassured and relieved too as we have seen record levels of bookings and enquiries.”
The recovery strategy is based on a number of stages, moving on to the next stage of reopening will require the rates of infection and hospitalisation to continue to decrease. This means that while some dates have been released, they are by no means, set in stone.
Self-catering accommodation without shared facilities is due to reopen in stage 2 which will begin on the 12th of April. The latest Government travel guidance states that, “Self-contained accommodation, such as holiday lets, where indoor facilities are not shared with other households” can reopen “no earlier than April 12,”. Sites with shared facilities such as toilet or shower blocks, will reopen at the later date of May 17th.
This, unfortunately, means that Glamping sites across the country will miss the Easter break. However, if all goes to plan, Summer holiday staycations seem to be back on the cards.
Wales
The First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford, held his last briefing on the 19th of February where it was suggested that it may be possible for Welsh self-contained accommodation to open in time for Easter. The reviews are being held every 3 weeks, so the next update on the situation will hopefully come on the 12th of March.
Scotland
Scotland have not given any projected dates as of yet, but the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, told MSPs on the 16th of February that the Scottish Government is likely to advise against booking Easter holidays overseas or within Scotland. Reopening will depend on the data and the Scottish Government hope to allow domestic holidays in time for the Summer.
UPDATE: On the 23rd of February, Nicola Sturgeon set out Scotland’s route out of lockdown. The country’s stay at home orders will be lifted on the 5th of April and weeks later there will be a return to a system of levels.
Ms Sturgeon stated that by no earlier than the 26th of April there will be a “phased but significant reopening of the economy, including non-essential retail, hospitality and services like gyms and hairdressers”. Unfortunately, no more detail is available, but the First Minister told MSPs that “In mid-March… I hope we can set out more detail of the further reopening that will take place over April and May and into a summer when we hope to be living with much greater freedoms than we are today.”
Northern Ireland
Currently, the majority of restrictions in Northern Ireland have been extended until at least the 1st of April. This means that accommodation, self-contained or otherwise, will not be able to reopen before this date. Until further information has been released, it is impossible to guess what restrictions will be lifted and when.
