More than of Brits have had a UK holiday hampered by poor internet connectivity, according to new research. The most common destinations that holidaymakers have been affected in are the Scottish Highlands and Islands (19%), Yorkshire (15%), and Cornwall (14%).
These negative experiences have made access to the internet a bare minimum for many holidaymakers, with good connectivity important to almost three quarters (70%) of Brits when choosing a staycation destination. In fact, over half (57%) would avoid choosing a location if it had limited or no connectivity.
Despite this, staycations remain popular amongst Brits and two thirds (65%) have one planned this summer, with the most popular locations of those polled including the South West (16%) and Scotland (13%).
Summer holidays spark staycation spike
According to O2 Motion data, the beginning of the summer holidays has already caused a notable spike in Brits getting away for a staycation. The aggregated and anonymous crowd movement data reveals that the first weekend of the school summer holidays saw visitor numbers at various tourism hotspots across the country rise.
The data shows that North Wales is one of the most popular staycation destinations, with Gwynedd seeing a 23% increase in visitors and Conwy seeing a 22% rise. Scotland also provided an escape for many Brits, with Argyll and Bute (15%) and Renfrewshire (12%) both seeing visitor levels rise. In England, East Lindsey (19%), Great Yarmouth (17%), and the Isle of Wight (12%) were the most popular places to visit.
Virgin Media O2 improves network in holiday hotspots
To help provide holidaymakers with better connectivity, Virgin Media O2 has upgraded its network in more than 72,000 ‘destination’ postcodes since May last 2022.
This includes upgrades in some of the nation’s favourite staycation destinations including the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides, Kent, East Sussex, and Yorkshire already benefitting. These upgrades include popular seaside towns such as Whitstable, Scarborough, and Brighton.
Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said, “With the school summer holidays well underway, we are doubling down on improving and expanding our network so that, come rain or shine, our customers have access to the services they want wherever and whenever they need them.”
For those heading further afield this year, O2 is the only major network not to charge customers extra for EU roaming up to 25GB.
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