New generation discover appeal of roaming with a home

When it came to hostess trolleys, shell suits and perms for men,

hindsight showed us the error of our ways. They were fads never to be repeated, and many thought much the same about caravanning.

With the arrival of cheap flights, wet weekends in Cleethorpes were replaced by mini-breaks to Rome and while there were still a hardened few who refused to give up their home on wheels, many decided it simply wasn't worth the hassle. Why spend a Friday night crawling along a

B-road when you could hop on a plane and be in Paris for dinner.

Caravans became a second- class kind of holiday, but as with every good underdog, the fight- back has begun. Suddenly, it seems the idea of swapping a four-bedroomed house for a week in a tiny box where the kitchen doubles as a bedroom is back in vogue.

The signs that something was stirring in what marketing people like to call the roam-with-a-home sector were first spotted last year. When the credit crunch bit, many decided to cut back on foreign trips, and when the euro exchange rate fell, normally cheap breaks abroad didn't seem quite such a bargain.

Holidays in the UK were rebranded as staycations and caravan and motorhome showrooms unexpectedly saw trade increase and the average age of buyers fall.

According to specialist insurer Safeguard, which has witnessed a 62 per cent increase in the number of quotes for caravan and motorhome cover being sought by 20 to 30-year-olds over the past year, caravanning has nudged its way in to the lucrative "glamorous camping" market.

"The younger generations are feeling the pinch from the economic downturn, and as a result they're choosing to staycation," say Rita Sadler, Safeguard manager. "With the return of the great British holiday, caravan sales have increased, with some showrooms reporting a 15 per cent rise in business. Young couples, and families, are helping to fuel the boom as they see it as a way of getting really good value

for money."

Those who have been quietly championing the humble caravan admit it has suffered from a bad image in the past.

However, there is a new determination to break out from under the awnings, the Caravan Club website has been revamped with images of

nice middle-class families picnicking by their motorhome and membership and bookings are now at record levels.

"We launched a Discover Touring campaign to promote the benefits of holidaying by caravan or motorhome," says the club's director of marketing, Nick Lomas.

"Essentially, it's about freedom and since its launch last year, more than 70,000 people have clicked on our website's new-to-caravanning section."

There are now more than half a million caravans and motorhomes in regular use in the UK, according to the National Caravan Council, and site bookings throughout the country this year are looking

exceptionally buoyant.

Car drivers might bemoan the fact that the annual great caravan crawl is now well underway on Britain's B-roads, but the ever-optimistic Caravan Club recommend the frustrated should consider the vast amount of cash generated by their owners.

"Our members alone spent more than 400m in the rural tourism economy in 2009 – and that's without taking pitch fees into account," adds Nick.

"Club sites in the UK will also get 12.7m spent on them in 2010, and there are also plans to acquire more sites to meet demand."

Research also shows that while the age of the average caravanner is 53, it's dropping fast and with the likes of former Formula One racing driver Mark Blundell – a youthful 44 – coming out as a tourer, the embarrassment factor is fading.

"Holidaymakers are now far more budget-conscious following the downturn," says Rita. "It isn't hard to understand why more and more younger drivers want to avoid costly package holidays, long queues at the airport, and cancelled flights."

And with the Icelandic volcano still casting a dark shadow over air travel, the age of the caravan looks like it just might dawn.