Caravan Club reports record bookings for 2009

Caravan holiday bookings for 2009 are up by 40 per cent on last year, according to the Caravan Club.

Some 50,623 bookings were made for 2009 by Caravan Club members in five days alone during December.

Nearly 55,000 households joined the club in 2008, which was a record year for UK caravan site bookings.

The club, which represents the interests of one million caravanners, motor caravanners and trailer tenters, says caravanning is the most popular paid-for holiday option, with a 19 per cent share of the market - second only to staying with friends and family.

One of The Caravan Club's supporters, comedian and presenter Rowland Rivron, said: "My first experience of caravanning was seven years ago, when I was presenting a feature for the BBC's Holiday programme.

"My family and I enjoyed the experience so much that we now go on several caravan holidays every year.

"We have been fully signed up members of The Caravan Club for many years and have never looked back.

"As a young family we loved its flexibility and the kids, like all kids, thought it was a great adventure.

"Now they are older we enjoy it for different reasons, we have discovered the delight of the great British outdoors and I am not surprised at the increase in popularity that is being reported, I am just glad that others have discovered it too."

Nick Lomas, director of marketing for The Caravan Club, said: "We confidently predict that 2009 will be the year that welcomes the return of the great British holiday, something Caravan Club members have enjoyed for over a century.

"Caravanning is enjoyed by people from all walks of life and all age groups - in the last year it has become particularly popular with young couples and families.

"A caravan holiday can be tailored to suit any budget and indeed any destination whether it be coastal, city or countryside, plus, it is flexible and can be enjoyed whenever the mood strikes you, so, every weekend can be a holiday.

"It is for these reasons we believe The Caravan Club has seen such an increase in members and site bookings and why caravanning is becoming increasingly popular.

"This, coupled with recent economic change, means that more and more Brits are enjoying a 'staycation' in the British Isles instead of a holiday abroad."