Love is certainly in the air this Valentine’s Day as more than a third (34%) of Britons is whisking their Valentine on a Lovecation this year. This is more than double the amount who got away last year when only 16% of Britons took a romantic Valentines break.
With Valentine's Day falling on a Friday this year more Britons are expected to take advantage and whisk their loved one away for a romantic break. Britons will be spending on average £297.95 on their romantic Lovecation which will give our economy a love boost of £6.5 billion this weekend.
These findings have been revealed in a new report out today by Travelodge who operate 580 hotels across the UK . The hotel chain surveyed 2,000 Britons to seek their plans for this Valentine’s Day.
Key findings revealed that a cultural city break is Britons top romantic getaway this Valentine’s Day with 31% of adults heading to London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and York. The second most popular type of romantic break for Britons this Valentines is a trip to the countryside with the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the Cotswold as the top three romantic locations. In third place is it a trip to the coast with Cornwall, Devon and Brighton as the most popular locations.
The study also found that a whopping 79% of British adults are making a Valentine’s purchase this year. This can include a gift for a partner, a Valentine, a pet, their children or a friend. The average spend is £42.30 and collectively this equates to just over £2bn being spent for love.
The biggest spenders are men who will be splashing out on average £50 to impress their Valentine. In contrast, women on average are just forking out £33 on their loved one.
Romantic words written in a soppy card is Britons top Valentines gesture of love this year with nearly three out of ten (28%) adults sending their sweetheart a card. The second most popular Valentines gift is a bouquet of flowers with a fifth (20%) and just over one in ten (12%) of Britons will show their partner how much they love them with a romantic meal.
The list below details the top ten gifts Britons will be purchasing for their Valentines this year:
1. Card
2. Flowers
3. Romantic meal
4. Box of chocolates / sweets or a cake
5. Jewellery
6. Book
7. Clothing
8. Tickets to a concert
9. Tickets to a football match
10. Handbag
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman, said, “Love is definitely in the air this Valentine’s Day. As this special day falls on a Friday this year it has certainly inspired a lot more Britons to take a Lovecation and opt for the priceless gift of spending quality time together to create special memories exploring Great Britain.
“Britons getting romantic and taking a Lovecation this Valentine’s Day is also great news for our economy as the romantic getaway will give our economy a nice boost of approximately £6.5 billion.”
“Our hotels in popular romantic hotspots such as London, Edinburgh, Bath, Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Cornwall are gearing up for a busy weekend. Our hotels that have a Bar Café have ordered extra breakfast supplies for couples who will be indulging in a late lazy weekend full English breakfast.”
Further research findings revealed that Londoners are the most romantic and will splash out an average £74.20 to impress their Valentine. In second place it is Glostonians who are set to spend £72.28 this Valentine’s Day. Bristolians take third place with an average spend of £56.60
In contrast Valentines thriftiest can be found in Sheffield, Plymouth and Wrexham who will only be spending respectively £15, £15.76 and £18 to woo their Valentine this year.
The research also revealed that an unromantic 21% of British adults reported that they will not be getting their partner anything this year as they don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day.