An Ashby couple built a holiday caravan company during the pandemic when they decided to take a last-minute break to Skegness.

Willow Tree Holidays 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.

The pandemic pushed numbers of static caravan bookings across the UK to record levels, market research suggests.

Britons took 3.7million caravan holidays in 2019, but that rose to 4.3million in 2022 - and data suggests that almost a quarter of the UK's adult population has been on a caravan holiday and the nostalgia is adding to the appeal.

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 caravans 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.

Fast forward just 18 months and 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."

Victoria Godby, a regular visitor to Willow Tree Holidays says it is an advantage to take her family to such a close location in comfortable surroundings and has three holidays booked already for 2024.

She said: "I've watched Willow Tree and the Caravan industry generally go from strength to strength.

I think people having holidayed in the UK through Covid, decided that it appealed to them."

Carla added: "The pandemic shift to working from home can also mean 'work from anywhere – as long as you've got wifi', for many people.

"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, equipment for cooking means caravan holidays are now more luxurious than ever. Willow Tree Holidays have multiple caravans within their fleet which are brand new.

Carla added: "We're expecting these trends to continue. I can only see the popularity increasing – the general trends, family holiday habits, the ageing population, the stable population all helping.

"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."