Southerness top destination for Scots looking to book a staycation

Southerness is top destination for Scots looking to book a staycation.

New figures show the seaside resort has recorded the highest number of holiday cottage bookings of anywhere in Scotland this year, with Kirkcudbright next up.

Whithorn, Gatehouse, Isle of Whithorn and Moffat also make the top 10 of the list from Sykes Holiday Cottages as part of their Scotland Staycation index.

They found more than three-quarters of Scots and nearly a third of Brits plan to holiday in the country this year.

Dumfries and Galloway is the second most popular region – behind only the Highlands – with bookings up more than 35 per cent on 2019.

Moffat, Thornhill and Dumfries were the three places in Scotland which had seen the biggest growth in bookings, with Southerness also proving to be the top place for an autumn break.

Sykes Holiday Cottages CEO Graham Donoghue said: “As a proud Scot myself, it’s easy to see why the country is a firm favourite amongst holidaymakers.

“Scotland provides welcome respite for many looking to escape and explore the great outdoors after being cooped up over the past 18 months – and we’re seeing this reflected in a surge of bookings for the rest of this year and even into 2022.

“The pandemic will have a lasting impact on us all and this is especially true for how people holiday. The shift towards holidays at home is likely to stick and we expect people to continue opting for ‘Scotcations’ in the years to come.”