New figures reveal that Britons are eager to take advantage of the extra bank holiday for King Charles’s coronation and use the opportunity to get away for a weekend break. According to accommodation search website Trivago, there has been a surge in UK bookings in Rome and Dublin, with the latter experiencing an increase of 77%. However, Dublin may not be the most cost-effective option, as a two-night break including an evening meal for two with wine and a 48-hour public-transport pass will now cost visitors €506, making it the fourth most expensive European city break destination. In contrast, hotels in London and surrounding areas have ramped up their prices due to high demand, with the cost of a hotel in London on the day of the coronation surging by 45% YoY to £203 (€232) on average. Nonetheless, the latest booking trends have revealed that many visitors are shunning London over the weekend of the ceremony, with a 7% decrease in searches for the capital compared to the same weekend in the previous year. In fact, when compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, searches for London in the UK and overseas on Trivago’s site are 30% lower for that weekend. Hotel occupancy figures from real-estate data firm CoStar also suggest that high London hotel prices may be deterring visitors, with occupancy figures standing at 73.1% for Friday and 71.8% on Saturday, lower than the figures seen a year ago.
