UK Travel Grinds To A Hault Thanks To Volcanic Ash

British airspace was officially shutdown on the 15th April 2010 as a result of a volcanic erruption spreading a ploom of ash across the UK. The volcanic ash was a result of the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano and the ash has spread across the UK and other parts of Europe.

The volcanic ash has caused chaos for the British aviation industry with passenger, business and air freight flights being grounded. The result of this is that many UK citizens have been stranded in different parts of the world due to the number of cancelled flights. A lot of these people have had to extend their hotel stays while others have been forced to cancel their plans because they can’t get abroad so what does this meant for the UK tourism industry this year?

The Eurostar channel tunnel and the UK ferries have been benefiting from the airspace closure as many people have changed their travel plans at the last minute but both of these services have also suffered similar set backs. At the start of this year the Eurostar tunnel was forced into closure when a train broke down inside the tunnel. All of these travel related issues could result in a lack of confidence among consumers when it comes to travelling outside of the UK.

While this could be a disaster for global travel companies it could still be a big boost for the British tourist industry. This summer is set to have some good weather and as a result accomodation services such as holiday cottages have reported that they have seen increases in bookings. This could mean that 2010 will be another successful year for the Great British ‘staycation’ with many families opting to stay at home rather than travelling abroad.

Last year we saw a large number of UK residents choosing to stay in the UK with a dramatic rise in the number of people renting holiday cottages in Cornwall. This is likely to be a result of the combination of good weather, the price and the amount of things to do in this area. There will still be a large percentage of people that will travel abroad this year but anyone who is still feeling the pinch from the recession will stil be considering staying in UK Holiday Cottages and similar holiday accommodation.