Value for money is the key issue for many people when it comes to choosing a holiday according to research by one of Britain’s leading family holiday park operators and they responded to customer feedback by including even more activities in the cost of their holidays, such a popular swimming lessons for beginners.

Cheap breaks with swimming lessons

Whilst it can be tempting to hang on for last minute bargains the chances are you won’t save much money – and you won’t get your first choice of destination and accommodation. With so many people booking in advance many popular dates are filling up fast.

If you don’t have any flexibility with dates – or have set your heart on a particular destination you’ll need to book early to get anything like cheap breaks in the UK this year.

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Theses latest stats come from research by the new domestic tourism body VisitEngland and were released at the recent Best of Britain and Ireland trade show in London.

photo credit: Dean Sas

More than half of people involved in the research (63%) expect to take a break or holiday in England in the next year and 90% will be cutting back on their overall spend.

However, the study also highlighted that the importance of holidays means that they are “more protected” than other areas of expenditure backing recent claims by Kayak.co.uk that we are a nation obsessed with holidays, even when times are tough.

These rosy prediction for UK tourism are also shared by national tourism agency VisitBritain, whose deputy chief executive Sandie Dawe was recently quoted as saying; “As well as generating more business for the industry to help tide them through the challenging economic climate, Best of Britain and Ireland will be a key opportunity for us to capture the imagination of the five million extra Britons considering taking a holiday here instead of abroad. It could be a real tipping point for British tourism.”

VisitBritain is to launch a £3 million promotional campaign highlighting the value of taking breaks in England. TV and national press advertising are planned from next month.

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According to figures released this week by Hotels.com, UK hotel room prices fell 12% to £93 per night in the last three months of 2008, compared with the same period in 2007

In contrast British tourists are having to pay more for accommodation at many popular overseas destinations, supporting suggestions that Brits will turn their backs on destinations such as Spain and are instead planning to spend this years holidays in the UK.

But it’s not just Spain where prices are soaring, one night in a Swiss hotel rose, on average, to £120 – an increase of 22% – and France, Holland and Greece saw rises of 11%, 14% and 15% respectively.

Figures for individual cities showed average London hotel room rates dipping 12%, Edinburgh prices falling from £99 to £95 and Belfast room rates down 17% to £83.  Bucking the trend was Cardiff, where average prices rose slightly from £87 at the end of 2007 to £93 at the end of last year.

The most expensive city at the end of 2008 was Moscow with rooms costing an average of £207 a night, although the biggest percentage increase was in Rio de Janeiro, where room rates rose 63% to £164 at the end of last year.

Other destinations with rising prices included, Geneva up 34% to £136, Zurich up 20% to £119, Washington DC up 18% to £115 per night, Paris rising 13% to £112 and Munich up 10% to £93.

The least expensive major city at the end of last year was the Latvian capital Riga where average rooms cost just £50 a night.

Hotels.com worldwide president David Roche said: “Our report shows that hoteliers around the world are being forced to cut rates to fill their rooms.

“Due to weak sterling, UK travellers will have to work a bit harder to find the bargains but there are still plenty to be had.

“For travellers from any part of the world, this is a great time to explore: travel has not been this cheap since January 2004.”

“The indications are that 2009 will continue to be a good year for travellers. If sterling strengthens, UK travellers will start enjoying the great savings our European and US counterparts are currently experiencing.”

Overall, the average price for a night in a UK hotel fell to £93 in the last three months of 2008.

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