More Brits Enjoying Experience Days In The UK As Part Of A Staycation

Into the Blue, one of the UK’s leading activity gift experience companies has had a sizzling summer with a rise in the number of family-orientated experiences being offered and bought.

The Office for National Statistics published a report in July 2010 saying foreign travel was down 15% in 2009, which is the biggest percentage fall since records began back in the 1970s. It seems Brits prefer to holiday in the UK more and more, going on what is being termed as a ‘staycation’.

As part of these stay at home holidays, many are booking experience days out to combine with their holiday. Short city breaks to London have been spiced up with a Ghost Bus Tour, which sees the whole family being driven around the capital in a double decker bus originally used as a funeral carriage to take the dearly departed and mourners ‘en masse’ to the chapel of rest.

Many this summer had the aim of harking back to the halcyon days of holidays by the sea. Traditional seaside holidays in Cornwall were combined with an Atlantic Adventure experience day. Climb aboard the high-speed powerboat and be whisked out to the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Penzance to spot whales, seals and even dolphins – with any luck they’ll swim alongside the boat for a truly breathtaking experience.

Preferring to avoid the crowds by staying in the heart of the countryside, Into the Blue had customers booking onto family falconry experiences the length and breadth of the country, making meeting the raptors one of the company’s most popular experiences this summer.

If July was basking in sunshine, the same could not be said for August, so it was of little surprise to Into the Blue when the family indoor skydiving experience crept up the bestseller list. Enjoy a good dose of free fall family fun with a 10 minute session in the high tech vertical wind tunnel in Milton Keynes, which literally blows you away on an experience families of up to five members will never forget.

All these experiences are available now to book online at Intotheblue.co.uk. And although the summer holidays are nearly at an end, each experience voucher is valid for a full 12 months, so the vouchers are valid right up until the end of the summer 2011 school holidays if bought now.

For more information contact Caroline Face at caroline@intotheblue.co.uk

About Into the Blue:
Into the Blue is a specialist experience gift voucher company that started life in 1996 as an off-shoot of Air Displays International Ltd (operator of the world-renowned Biggin Hill Air Fair), offering flying activities and lessons.

Since then, the company has added a whole range of different activities to the portfolio of activity gift voucher experiences, which now totals in excess of 400. All experiences are available to buy directly from intotheblue.co.uk or by calling 01959 578100.

The company continues to evolve the range and believes that there is a perfect experience suitable for every individual and for every occasion.

The Family Ghost Bus Tour experience around central London costs £50 for a family ticket for two adults and two children between five and 15 years old and uses a restored 1966 Routemaster double decker bus, formerly used by the Necropolis Bus Company.

The Atlantic Adventure costs from £25 per child and £35 for adults. The 12-seater Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) leaves from Penzance to go wildlife spotting in the Atlantic Ocean. The experience is suitable for children aged five and over.

Falconry experiences are offered at centres throughout the UK and prices start at £27 per person and many offer special family deals.

The indoor skydive experience at Airkix in Milton Keynes is suitable for a family of up to five and all children taking part must be over four years old. All skydivers will be kitted out with goggles, helmet and the special flying overalls before heading into the wind tunnel together. This family experience costs £170 per family.