Touring turns younger as UK holidays gain ground

A top Lancashire holiday park says that more younger people are now gaining a taste for touring – thanks to parents who have decided to unhitch in favour of caravan holiday homes.

Moss Wood caravan park, near Lancaster, believes that a trend started last year is set to accelerate this season as increasing numbers of more mature guests call time on touring.

But their places on the pitches are instead being occupied by younger family members who often take on the touring caravan from their mum and dad.

“It’s an interesting development which we’ve never before witnessed,” said Moss Wood director Henry Wild whose father, Syd, acquired the park in the mid-Seventies.

“There are a number of factors coming into play, but at the bottom line is a very optimistic outlook for the future of the touring caravan industry in the UK,” he suggests.

Henry reports that last year saw a record number of older tourer owners decide to buy a caravan holiday home at Moss Wood where pre-owned prices start from around £10,000.

A main reason, he says, is that the park is positioned in tranquil countryside just inland from the Lancashire coast, yet just a short drive from the M6 motorway.

This means that Moss Wood provides easy access to a wide range of popular locations, including the Lake District, the Forest of Bowland, the Yorkshire Dales, and many seaside towns.

Touring guests, says Henry, therefore often decide to make the park their permanent central base for exploring these regions – without having a caravan on tow for each visit.

But in many cases, he reports, their touring caravan still stays in the family, and is often gifted or sold for a reduced sum to a grown-up son or daughter:

“I think this is happening more often now because of the stay-cation trend of recent years, and which actually appears to be gathering pace,” said Henry.

“A generation ago, families often took it for granted that they would go abroad for a holiday, but today many people regard it as a smarter move to stay in this country.

“This is persuading touring caravan owners to commit to buying a caravan holiday home at an earlier stage than previously, and for their older children to take over the tourer’s reins.

“It’s a fascinating about-turn to the previous definition of these guests as a maturing market, and I think signals a long-term renaissance of the touring holiday,” said Henry.

Demand for holiday homes to buy at Moss Wood has often outstripped supply, but the park has now gained consent for an additional 40 pitches for privately owned leisure homes.

Details of the park, and properties currently for sale, can be found at www.MossWood.co.uk.