The Great May Bank Holiday Escape will make Scottish roads the busiest they have been for some time but boost the economy by £879 million
THE traditional Bank Holiday weekend of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, predicting the weather, listening to children constantly shouting “Are we there yet” whilst chomping through endless bags of sweets and having a sing-a-long is back this weekend. With 53% of locked up Aberdeen adults taking to the UK’s open roads this weekend for their great escape, Britain’s roads are set to be the busiest they have been for some time.
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Routes to the seaside, major cities, the countryside, historical attractions and to the doors of our beloved family and friends will be the busiest.
Aberdeen bank Holiday travellers are planning to spend on average £313 on their Maycation. Collectively Scots will give the economy a boost of £879 million. These findings have been revealed in a new survey issued today by Travelodge.
The hotel giant, whom operates 580 hotels across the UK including 47 properties in Scotland surveyed 2,000 adults to seek their plans for the first official Bank Holiday post lockdown. Key findings revealed that over a third (36%) of residents in Aberdeen feel that the UK needs to get back to normality and by them taking a short break over the May Bank holiday, this will act as a catalyst to kick start recovery and give UK tourism a much needed boost.
This May Bank Holiday, 29% of residents in Aberdeen are making the most of the nice weather that is predicated for this weekend and flocking to the seaside / coast for some sun, sand and sea. The top Bank Holiday weekend holiday hotspots for residents in Aberdeen include Blackpool, Bridlington, Scarborough, Whitby and Filey.
A quarter (25%) of Aberdeen Bank Holiday holidaymakers are seeking culture, shopping and fine dining and are taking a cosmopolitan city break to discover one of the UK’s 69 great cities, seven of which are in Scotland. The top city breaks for residents in Aberdeen this May Bank Holiday weekend are: Glasgow, Dundee, Newcastle, York and Liverpool.
Visiting family across the UK is a key activity this Bank Holiday with 23% of residents in Aberdeen taking a road trip to reconnect with their loved ones. Whilst one in ten residents in Aberdeen have organised a family get together in a central location so that they can pack in seeing lots of members of their family over the bank holiday weekend
However, 20% of Aberdeen holidaymakers are yearning to be one with nature and want to explore the nation’s countryside this May Bank Holiday. Top rural retreat destinations for residents in Edinburgh this weekend include: The Scottish Highlands, Yorkshire Dales, The Lake District, Northumberland, and Derbyshire.
Detailed below are the top ten activities residents in Aberdeen are planning to do this Bank Holiday weekend:
1. Visiting the seaside
2. Taking a cosmopolitan city break
3. Visiting family
4. Taking a rural break in the Great British countryside
5. Meeting up with friends in central locations across the country
6. Going on a family road trip
7. Taking an activity/ adventure type holiday
8. Taking a history or heritage trip
9. Taking an educational themed Minication to their child’s education
10. Visiting a theme park
Detailed below are the top 10 most popular locations that residents in Aberdeen are planning to visit this weekend:
| Rank | Seaside /coastal | City Break | Rural Retreat |
| 1 | Blackpool | Glasgow | Scottish Highlands |
| 2 | Bridlington | Dundee | Yorkshire Dales |
| 3 | Scarborough | Newcastle | The Lake District |
| 4 | Whitby | York | Northumberland |
| 5 | Filey | Liverpool | Derbyshire |
| 6 | Conwy | Edinburgh | Lancashire |
| 7 | Oban | Manchester | Cheshire |
| 8 | Whitstable | Sheffield | Norfolk |
| 9 | Weymouth | Leeds | North Wales |
| 10 | Ayr | London | Suffolk |
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: “This May Bank Holiday is the start of the 2021 great escape for many residents in Aberdeen and the official launch of the UK hospitality holiday season. After being locked up at home for months, residents in Aberdeen are getting behind the wheel this weekend and hitting the roads in search of some much needed R&R. We should prepare for traffic jams as this May Bank Holiday is expected to be the busiest in years. Our 580 UK Travelodge hotels including our 47 properties in Scotland are all getting geared up to welcome customers from all corners of the country this weekend. Our hotels that are located in scenic locations and close to the sea, mountains or major attractions are selling like hot cakes this week.”
“To help residents in Aberdeen make the most of 2021 and discover what makes Britain so Great, we have released over 2 million rooms for £29 across all of our UK hotels. We even have over 25,000 of these £29 rooms available for this May Bank Holiday Weekend. For a family of four, a £29 Travelodge family room works out at just £7.25 per person which is cheaper than a portion of fish and chips. To book a great value £29 room visit: www.travelodge.co.uk.”
The report also revealed that a fifth (21%) of residents in Aberdeen are taking a road trip this Bank Holiday so that their pet dog can have a holiday after being locked up during the pandemic.
Other key findings revealed that over a quarter (27%) of residents in Aberdeen reported that sweets and music are the two key essentials of their May Bank Holiday road trip. On average residents in Aberdeen will be spending £27.50 on vital snacks and sweets to munch through their long arduous road trip.
Chewy, fruity sweets are residents in Aberdeen favourite car sweets with Wine Gums, Fruit Pastels and Jelly Babes topping the road trip sweets poll.
When it comes to road trip snacks, residents in Aberdeen love to munch their way through bags of crisps with cheese & onion, salt & vinegar and ready salted being the top car journey flavours.
No road trip is complete without a bar of chocolate and residents in Aberdeen favourite drive time bar is a Kit Kat followed by a Mars Bar, Snickers Bar, Dairy Milk and a Bounty.
Interestingly seven out of ten (70%) residents in Aberdeen Bank Holiday travellers have reported that they are packing a picnic for their big road trip this weekend and 65% of travellers will break up their journey and find a pretty scenic setting en-route to have a picnic. Whilst 41% will devour their picnic in the car and 20% will stop off at a service station to enjoy their picnic.
When it comes to car entertainment, music remains key with 37% of residents in Aberdeen opting to listen to the radio during their car journey. Just under a third (31%) of residents in Aberdeen like to listen to their personal road trip play list whilst 23% prefer to sing along to the radio.
Over half (51%) of residents in Aberdeen prefer to listen to pop/ chart music during their road trip, whilst 42% of residents in Aberdeen opt for rock music, 16% tune into R&B and 21% like to listen to country & western music.
When it comes to the ultimate road trip tunes, residents in Aberdeen prefer the classics with Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen being the ultimate road trip track, followed Hotel California by Eagles, in second place, Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac in third place, Dancing Queen by Abba in fourth position and Highway to Hell by ACDC in fifth position.
Interestingly 18% of residents in Aberdeen like to laugh their way through their road trip and listen to a comedy podcast whilst 15% utilise their drive time to learn and listen to a TED podcast and 12% tune into a sports podcast.
The report also revealed that 35% of residents in Aberdeen are still too nervous to travel anywhere due to the implications of COVID-19 even though the Government has lifted the restrictions on UK based travel.
