Dog-friendly holiday company, PetPyjamas, has reported a 41% increase in forward bookings in May against the month prior.
The majority of bookings have been for holidays to be taken later in the year or early 2021, though according to PetsPyjamas, the increase indicates that pet owners are once again “keen to travel with their dog”.
In a recent customer survey, 19% of respondents said they would travel with their dog as soon as lockdown was released, citing the “need for a break”.
Some 43% were more “cautious”, however, saying they would prefer to wait at least a month before travelling with their pet, while 7% said they would wait until Summer 2021 before travelling.
As well as an increase in bookings, the PetsPyjamas website also received a 30% uplift in traffic this month. Cornwall was the most widely-searched destination with 31% of searches, followed by Devon with 27%. Other popular searches included Suffolk, the Lake District and East Sussex.
PetsPyjamas co-founder and CEO, Karen Hanton, said: “While holidays with or without the dog are on hold right now, our latest bookings increase and customer feedback demonstrates that people are keen to enjoy getaways with their dogs, friends and family once again.
“As a business, we are closely following the government’s guidelines on safe social distancing and hygiene within the hospitality sector and will only be sending our customers and their dogs away when it is safe to do so.”
She added: “When the country is finally able to start to ease back into some form of normality, we will take great pride in sharing the brilliance of the UK as a holiday destination and in our role in helping British businesses get back on their four paws.”
PetsPyjamas was launched in 2014, and provides pet owners and pets with getaways at more than 4,000 hotels, cottages, country houses and B&Bs in the UK and abroad.
Customers automatically become members of the ‘Priority Paws’ club, which gives dogs and owners access to a VIP pet concierge, complimentary 24/7 vet advice from PawSquad for the duration of their trip, VIP discounts and further deals.
