Hostelworld Press Room

• Staycation summer not a myth

  September 22, 2009

  Hostelworld.com figures confirm predictions that despite non-'barbecue summer', Irish holidayed at home in 2009

  As the nights draw in and the promise of a 'barbeque summer' becomes a distant memory, the leading online provider of hostels and budget accommodation, Hostelworld.com, has released new figures[1] showing exactly where people chose to travel to this summer. After all the predictions and hearsay the figures prove conclusively that this really was the summer of the 'staycation'.

  The endlessly talked-about economic environment coupled with the promise of good weather was clearly enough to persuade holiday-makers to stay on these shores. Every corner of Ireland benefited from the 'staycationers', however as would be expected, it was the traditional Irish tourist hotspots that really dominated. Bookings into Donegal saw a staggering 115% increase while other places enjoying similar booms included Dingle, Lahinch, Clifden and Kenmare.

  Carmel Dunne, VP of Accommodation Relations for Hostelworld.com comments: "Overall we are delighted with what has been the best ever summer for Hostelworld.com. The combination of an increase of new properties in Ireland working with us along with holiday makers staying at home this summer has brought record bookings into Ireland! Furthermore though it shows that more people are turning to hostels as an extra way to save money"

  % increase in Irish bookings
  • Donegal - 115%
  • Dingle - 96%
  • Lahinch - 70%
  • Doolin - 31%
  • Clifden - 30%
  • Newgrange - 25%
  • Kenmare - 23%
  • Waterford - 20%
  • Killarney - 11%

  In Europe, there was a trend for less conventional destinations that enjoyed a bumper summer as travellers looked for alternatives to their traditional summer breaks. In Scandinavia the big rises were Stockholm and Oslo with 25% and 24% increases respectively while Hamburg, Ios, Zagreb and Porto also all climbed. Pisa in Italy was another riser with a 41% increase in bookings.

  Despite many deciding to stay at home, it seems that those who did make it abroad continued the trend of choosing budget accommodation. Hostelworld.com can also reveal that destinations further afield enjoyed an increase in visitor numbers compared with summer 2008[2]. Asia in particular has seen record numbers flock to its cities. Kuala Lumpur for example saw a staggering 95% increase in visitor numbers while in Japan Osaka (37%), Kyoto (26%) and Tokyo (13%), have become more affordable and therefore more visited in the past year. Finally Singapore, traditionally seen as a very up market location enjoyed an 18% increase in visitors booking into hostels compared with the same time last year.

  % increase in bookings around the world
  • Kuala Lumpur - 95%
  • Pisa - 41%
  • Osaka - 37%
  • Kyoto - 26%
  • Hamburg - 26%
  • Ios - 26%
  • Stockholm - 25%
  • Oslo - 24%
  • Zagreb - 23%
  • Porto - 23%

  Carmel Dunne, VP of Accommodation Relations, again comments:
  "Though we had record bookings into Ireland, it is also great to see that during these difficult times, hostels around the world are growing in popularity. As our figures show Asia has grown considerably in popularity. This is partly due to low cost airline Airasia developing a large market share into Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the region alongside the growth we have seen in new properties that have signed up with us in Asia."

  [1] All figures are year on year increases for Irish and UK bookers into Ireland in the three months between June and August inclusive 2008 vs. 2009
  [2] Bookings by all Hostelworld.com customers

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