IF the winter weather has been making you dream of warmer days recently, booking a holiday may be just the tonic you need.

But if a staycation is what you are looking for, then consider a break at Willow Tree Holidays near Skegness - which is run by an Ashby couple, Stacey and Carla Garey.

It was born out of a British holiday boom at a time when the country was emerging from the Covid lockdown.

Now the business boasts 17 caravans and a lodge and is hopeful that the caravan industry change has shifted British holidaymakers' habits for good.

Britain's forest parks and crowded coastal tourist hotspots are not the only places that have benefited from the caravanning resurgence.

Skegness in particular has a good claim to being the UK's caravan capital, with approximately 37,000 of them in the area.

This is the home of Willow Tree Holidays - which started from the simple idea of providing low-cost holidays in a great family-friendly location. The decision came after the family which owns the company, stayed on a resort themselves.

Now their thriving business is growing fast predominantly based at that same location.

Carla Garey, who owns Willow Tree Holidays, said: "I'm optimistic that UK holiday caravan spending is still strong after the pandemic boom – in part thanks to the increasing popularity of going on more, shorter, holidays, scattered throughout the year.

Stacey Garey added: "The general trend is people taking more holidays per year, top-up breaks in the UK, in addition to a main holiday abroad."

Carla said that home workers may also use the site for a change of scenery.

She added: "Working from a holiday home is becoming more popular. We've seen people booking breaks and working comfortably by the coast, with a change in scenery."

Straightforward technical improvements have helped the industry shake off its reputation for being damp and dreary.

Add in the built-in furniture, mod cons, functional kitchens, and equipment for cooking means caravan holidays are now more luxurious than ever. Willow Tree Holidays has multiple caravans within its fleet which are brand new.

Carla added: "The question around the cost-of-living crisis could also affect numbers this year, particularly in some of the larger holiday parks - which are reliant on getting lots of people through the gates and operating all year long.

"But many of the smaller caravan companies are in a different market sector, with some older users who are less affected by the squeeze on wages."

She cites an increase in '3G living', when three generations of a family will holiday together, funded by the parents or grandparents, and with multiple caravans next door to each other - something that works well at Willow Tree Holidays.

The caravan industry has in the past been more resilient during tougher economic times.

For many families, the prospect of holidaying in the UK offers the promise of cost-saving, plus the value of convenience and comfort.

Carla, who owns a number of other successful businesses, said: "UK holidays tend to do relatively well in economic downturns.

Some people return to static caravans in place of cottage holidays and travelling abroad due to costs."