Our Staycation Music Playlist

PLAYLIST

And All The People Said- Cameron Aerts

Getaway- Saint Motel

Go All The Way- Raspberries

Runaway Girl- Kakkmaddafakka

A La Plage- Juniore

Broken Coastline- Down Like Silver

Man on the Moon- Zella Day

Backyard Boy- Claire Rosinkranz

Blues Run The Game- Jackson C. Frank

Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride- Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu + Kamehameha Schools Children’s Choir

Sustainable Art: Belle Terrae

You can find Belle Terrae’s work on Instagram and also dm them for custom orders!

I started Belle Terrae (quite truthfully) so that I could have an excuse to keep making upcycled things when I had run out of room to keep them all in my house! I quickly realised that there might be more to the business when people started giving me such encouraging feedback after receiving their orders. The name Belle Terrae means beauty (French) of the earth (latin) – it was super important to me to have a name that reflects how important sustainability is to my business as everything I make is upcycled. One theme that always seems to crop up in my work is bright, bold colour. If you’d asked me my favourite colour as a child, it was always rainbow (Hands down) – something that hasn’t changed as I’ve gotten older! I’d like to think that people buy my work to have a little piece of something tropical and fun to add to their homes, especially now we’re all spending more time in them – like a little tropical retreat from the comfort of your sofa! The most important thing for me though is making sure that my work makes people happy and as long as it does then that’s enough for me.

2020 could be described as the year of many things, but for anyone interested in travelling, it has become known as the year of Staycations. But are Staycations elitist?

Now, you may wonder if this is a large conclusion to jump to. And perhaps you are correct. Afterall, Staycations may be the reason that hundreds of travel companies in Scotland and the wider UK are currently surviving. However, in a time when we’re facing potentially the worst recession in history and sky-high unemployment rates, the question has to be asked – who can actually afford a Staycation in the UK?

There was once a time when ‘staycations’ were just vacations – or holidays if you’re not American. Before the likes of Spain or Greece became go-to holiday destinations, people would flock to caravan parks or beach side towns such as Blackpool for their summer holidays. And the simple reason for that is because they were cheap.

However, nowadays, most seaside towns are dead (partly due to the lack of tourism) and the new ‘staycations’ are marketed as luxury glamping pods or remote bouji cottages on Airbnb. Now you may be wondering why a 23-year-old is busying themselves talking about the ‘good old days’ of holidaying down the beach park, as if this type of holiday destination is a place I frequent. It’s not.

Whilst all my family holidays as a young kid involved camping in the UK, by the time I’d reached 10 years old we had moved on to Euro-camps in France and now, as an adult, I have travelled all over Europe and visited other places in South East Asia and America – but not once have I booked a holiday in the UK.

In fact, booking a holiday in the UK is not even a thought that had entered my mind until recently. However, given the uncertainty of 2020 and the constantly evolving lockdown and quarantine restrictions, I decided to explore the current Staycation hype. Unfortunately, I soon discovered it’s not a holiday that’s in mine, or a lot of people’s price bracket. Take a 5-day holiday my partner and myself took to Prague a few years ago. Our plane tickets were rough-

Staycations: The New Rich Man’s Holiday

Staycations: The New Rich Man’s Holiday

ly £50 each return and our very central Airbnb cost just under £150. Meaning we paid roughly £125 each for a 5-day holiday. Compare that to an Airbnb of a similar size, with the same amenities, in the Scottish Highlands for 5 days - it would cost just over £500. That’s double the price and I haven’t even factored in the cost of travel yet.

And it seems that this is not just a one off as a study by On the Beach in 2019 found that a European beach holiday is up to 66% cheaper than a staycation in the UK.

Of course, this is in no way to criticise the Airbnb I’ve listed, or any other travel company within the UK. There are many reasons why it’s not completely fair to directly compare Airbnb’s in Prague to Airbnb’s in Scotland, especially given the difference in the cost of living in the two countries.

However, in amongst the Staycation ‘craze’ and the government and media’s push to ‘help out’ local businesses, the ramifications of those price differences in terms of who can afford to book these types of holidays, should be acknowledged.

Of course, there are also many benefits to Staycations such as the boost to local and national economies and the unquestionable environmental advantages. So, this article is in no way arguing that people should boycott Staycations. Please, if you can afford to, book the luxury treehouse cabin in the woods. Treat yourself!

At the end of the day, the conversation of holiday price tags is not a new one. Unquestionably, a holiday of any kind is a massive luxury that only those with a certain level of privilege can afford. Nevertheless, if the current price tags remain, UK staycations will continue to belong only to those with big enough wallets to afford them.

Photo Credit: Annie Spratt Words by Robyn Hannah, she is a content and copywriter from the West Coast of Scotland. An avid traveller and a massive foodie, find her on Hoping for Hammocks and @_robynhannah