How the Iran warfare is impacting UK staycations: Prices to skyrocket to ‘pandemic ranges’ – and demand for Lake District and Cotswolds greater than ever

As travel advisories for different destinations keep changing and the war in the Middle East continues, Brits are starting to question whether they want to go abroad this year. 

Many have already had their trips abroad cancelled for the Easter holidays, as a result of being unable to fly to Dubai, or through the Middle East. 

But this could mean staycations are going to go through the roof – with UK holiday companies already seeing ‘similar patterns’ to the pandemic, when prices surged by up to 100 per cent, with some Brits being charged more than £1,000 for a short break.

Richard Young, CEO of selfcatering.co.uk, tells the Daily Mail how the holiday rental site has seen a 37 per cent rise in UK staycation searches and bookings since the conflict began. 

He puts the increase down to ‘more travellers opting for the reassurance and value of staying closer to home’.

‘Changes in global conditions and rising fuel costs can quickly shape how people approach their holiday plans and when travelling abroad becomes more expensive and feels less certain, many start to consider options closer to home,’ Richard says.

He adds, ‘We saw a similar pattern during the pandemic, as well as periods of airline disruption and previous fuel price spikes.’

UK retreat specialist Together Travel echoes this, and has experienced a 50 per cent year-on-year increase in interest over the past month. 

‘We saw a similar pattern during the early stages of the pandemic, when international travel became more complicate,’ says managing director Laura Dubois.

She adds, ‘Travellers still want a proper break, but many prefer the reassurance of staying within the UK where plans feel more predictable and easier to manage. 

‘In some cases, people simply switch plans and look for somewhere closer to home where they can relax without worrying about potential disruption.’ 

Google searches for several spots across the UK are currently soaring compared to this time last year, suggesting holidaymakers might be looking for stays closer to home.

Enquiries for ‘UK holiday cottage’ have surged by 260 per cent this month, while the rolling hills and scenic views of the Lake District are pulling in 129 per cent more compared to the same time last year. 

The beloved Cotswolds is seeing a 128 per cent increase too, and other popular staycation destinations like Wales, Scotland and Norfolk have experienced a rise in interest, according to data collected by holiday home insurance specialists Schofields Insurance.

Awaze, the parent company of Cottages.com, Hoseasons and James Villas, reports a surge in demand too. 

Bookings in July for Cottages.com and Hoseasons are up 26 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

CEO Matthew Price puts it down to British holidaymakers ‘prioritising escape and calm over the stress of long-haul travel, choosing the convenience and beauty of a UK staycation instead’.

 

As for Butlin’s, the classic seaside resort company has seen an increase in Easter bookings by 68 per cent over the last four weeks. 

But the interest in the budget holiday park doesn’t stop there, as it has also experienced ‘higher demand’ for off-peak and term-time breaks too.

With similar behaviour to that of the pandemic predicted, Brits could begin considering on-the-road staycations too.

Back in 2020, the pandemic drove record-breaking sales of motorhomes, according to Ripe Motorhome Insurance, and the company predicts the same could happen again due to the ongoing conflict. 

‘We could be likely to see motorhome holidays experience a significant boom over the coming months if this uncertainty continues,’ says Mel Savage, head of underwriting operations at Ripe Motorhome Insurance. 

‘We saw a very similar pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic, where demand for domestic, self-contained travel surged as people looked for options that felt more reliable and closer to home.’

The expert reveals the same trends could happen again, adding, ‘Early signs suggest we may be heading in a similar direction again, with searches for “staycation” up 92 per cent and motorhome holidays increasing by 6,000 per cent in the past month alone.’

‘Motorhome travel offers a unique combination of flexibility, comfort and independence, allowing travellers to avoid crowded transport hubs and plan around disruption,’ she says.

‘That sense of control is likely to make it an increasingly popular choice for those reconsidering trips abroad.’

Meanwhile, the likes of PoB Hotels and Premier Cottages insist pricing will remain ‘consistent’ despite any increase in demand.

However, they warn there may be fewer options for travellers to choose from. 

Kalindi Juneja, PoB Hotels boss, says ‘it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions’ that holidaymakers may be booking more staycations but points to ‘early indications that ongoing global uncertainty may be gently encouraging some travellers to look closer to home’. 

She says any surge of interest ‘has not translated into inflated pricing’ and adds, ‘rates across our hotels remain consistent’. 

Independent holiday cottage company Premier Cottages interestingly saw ‘a sharp initial dip’ when the conflict first escalated ‘as consumers paused’. 

But, interest soon rocketed within a week afterwards and ‘daily UK staycation bookings were running around 23 per cent ahead of the same period last year, suggesting Brits are already turning to home soil,’ marketing director Dylan Edwards reveals. 

He adds, ‘We’ve not raised our prices and we’re not expecting to see prices generally because of conflict in the Middle East but people who leave it too late to book may find they have considerably less choice as we are certainly seeing much higher demand recently.’ 

It comes as British Airways, earlier this week, cancelled all flights to Dubai until at least June amid ongoing disruption in the Middle East. The airline will not fly to Dubai, Amman, Bahrain or Tel Aviv until after May 31, and Doha in Qatar until the end of April.

Flights to Abu Dhabi will be cancelled until later this year. BA’s decision came hours after Dubai’s main airport was forced to close when a drone attack caused a fire.

Dubai has surged in popularity in recent years, with 19.6million visitors in 2025, up 5 per cent on the previous year – including 1.47million from the UK, up 11 per cent.

But the recent conflict has thrown the city’s tourism sector into chaos, with the UK’s Foreign Office warning against all but essential travel to the United Arab Emirates.

An estimated 75,000 Brits visited Dubai last Easter – a figure likely to be close to zero this Easter as long as the conflict is still raging in just over a fortnight’s time.

The Middle East’s tourism industry is losing an estimated $600million (£448million) a day in visitor spending, according to World Travel and Tourism Council estimates.

Some airlines such as Qantas, Air New Zealand and Scandinavia’s SAS have already confirmed they will increase fares in response to a rise in jet fuel prices.

UK Foreign Office guidance remains that Greece is safe; while most of Turkey is also considered safe, apart from the border with Syria along the east of the country.

There is no advice against Cyprus trips, but the Foreign Office warns ‘regional escalation poses significant security risks and has led to travel disruption’.

Some areas of Egypt are deemed unsafe by the Foreign Office, including the Libya border, but not the key tourist regions of Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Sharm El Sheikh.

Last week, the Mail revealed package holidays to countries near the war are being sold for as little as £100 as travel firms try to win bookings from concerned travellers.

Travel companies fear the drop-off will continue indefinitely with no end to the war in sight and are therefore unable to determine how much their profits will be hit.

MPs were warned at a hearing on Tuesday last week that holiday air fares are set to leap because of the Middle East crisis, amid fears about the impact on inflation.

Energy market expert Amrita Sen said the market for jet fuel had gone ‘crazy’, with a surge in prices likely to feed through into higher fares immediately.