To be surprised that family attractions are so busy?

[cattyfranny]

I see and hear a lot about families cutting back due to the current economic situation and yet attractions (theme parks, zoos etc) and holiday parks (Centre Parcs etc) seem to be packed. I thought Christmas businesses might suffer but those that have started taking bookings are already selling out. Are people going into debt for this kind of thing? Or are there more people with high disposable income than I realise?

We go to the zoo at least once a week. We have an annual membership paid for in April so for us the zoo is a "free" day out. We go so often that I think it probably works out at £4 a visit. We'll prioritise the membership next year but have already agreed that we'll cancel our national trust membership, as we don't really get much use of it these days.

You'll find that lots of people booked christmas stuff months ago. I've already booked and paid for 3 big activities. Two were booked in the spring! I'll probably cut down on gifts though.

That's not going to stop people going out now though?!

Many many families are not impacted by a few extra hundred / month on power. It may not be palatable to hear, but not everyone lives anywhere near the poverty line. Doesn't make it any more pleasant for the people who do obviously, but if you were genuinely expecting family attractions to be quiet on a sunny bank holiday weekend then you're perhaps living in an echo chamber

I agree with people saying that it's busier because many families are not travelling abroad.

We have recently used the ferry from Dover and it was less busy compared to pre covid years... we always go the same weeks in August, so our timings were exactly the same.

We are in our 50s. We are covid-cautious travellers, haven't been abroad since 2019. That money - 3 years foreign holidays- is in the bank. We got a decent fix on our electricity... below the current cap til autumn next year. Holidays (uk), days out and events have been booked since Easter for the rest of this year and well into next.

End of next year will be when things bite for us, and for many of the people around us of the same age group. I am not a smug person, I am worried for the general situation, and for those individuals and businesses that will be affected - but cannot pretend that I am going to be badly affected financially ...yet.

What do you want to hear @cattyfranny? We like to take our child to family attractions for days out, we have some annual passes that give us free entry to a range of places, we have lots to do because of DS missing experiences during covid, we have high income and low living expenses. Frankly, anyone in our position SHOULD be out spending money, businesses need income after covid. Not everyone with kids is struggling, and those who really struggle weren't paying £100-£150 for a theme park / zoo family day out before regardless. More people will struggle with higher bills and they need support, that doesn't mean everything stops and nor should it.

Our experience has been different. We live by a very popular coastal town and bank holidays and school holidays it's usually rammed. There are traffic jams everywhere, the local theme park has massive queues of over an hour for a ride, all the activities our local kids can do on a whim (trampoline Park, farm etc) we have to book slots in advance (even pre covid) and pre covid it was impossible to get a seat in a pub. This summer it's been busy but only half as bad. Bank Holiday has been fairly worrying as it's been no different to a term time weekend. Me and the DC even headed into the main touristy part this evening to a popular showbar with a kids disco. Pre covid you wouldn't have gotten a seat if you weren't there an hour before, but today we arrived ten minutes before the disco and it was half empty. A lot of these places were struggling due to the lockdowns and when things did open up, it wasn't brilliant because the usuals were from red zones so couldn't travel to us. I know a couple of friends that own businesses in the village are worried because they were relying on this summer to get them through the off-peak season.

We reigned in our finances massively during Covid. Normal incomes - both teachers. Live in a cheap, ex council house so our most is small

Not eating out, no holiday, no days out, no buying shit lunches at work, no wandering the shops at the weekend etc meant that we cleared both of our overdrafts and credit card and built up a small savings habit

All this has meant we're OK now - I bought wood for the log burner in lockdown just in case but it's been mild. It'll see us through winter and beyond

I developed a meal prep habit which has saved us a fortune

I'm furious about the cost of living rise but it hopefully won't push us back into overdrafts

I absolutely keep quiet about feing ok financially though because I know others are struggling

For many it's just a blip, nothing to get excited about. I think this thinking is very naive, the crisis is potentially going to be deep and protracted. Very few are fully insulated from this in terms of the wider economy.

I am going tobe fine paying my bills. It is still definitely something to get 'excited' (not my original choice of word) about.

We aren't affected yet as we are on a fixed rate for energy and Mortgage until the end of next year. I'm expecting to be hit hard when they both end so am starting to cut back now.

However you wouldn't notice, because it's invisible stuff like the unlimited cinema card or gym membership or one less meal out a month or a few less brands in the shopping trolley. The stuff I am trying not to cut out (until I have absolutely no other choice) is the stuff that affects other people e.g. our cleaner

Yeah, I think it’s a last hurrah really and people are kind of past it. The forecast for bills is horrifying and we might as well enjoy things in the present until we have to face October 1st charges onwards. Also agree with PPs who have said these things were likely booked ages ago. We have booked our pumpkin picking, pantomime, carol concert etc all paid for now. Would suggest others to do the same if at all able.

Maybe if you went to a food bank to look for poor and struggling people rather than the places where people with money go

I was reading Jay Raynor s restaurant review this morning and he said people who can afford to go to restaurants and the like, should do so. and I totally agree with him. It makes no sense at all for people who can afford to eat out not to do so because of some ill thought out middle class guilt. All they would be doing is hastening the closure of decent restaurants and the staff loosing their jobs.

same goes for any form of leisure activity. We are going to loose a lot of leisure activity type of venues over the coming years. If individuals can still afford to support them, I think we should.

Not everyone at attractions and theme parks has lots of money, people have set out above how they afford them

Secondly, there is a huge variety of circumstances in between 'going to a theme park and flashing the cash' and 'have only crumbs in the cupboard and I need a food parcel'

The country is not as polarised as this and its unhelpful and inaccurate to make this the only distinction

Plenty of people aren't struggling with money. Many people have high disposable income and can absorb the costs of living fairly easily (currently).

Also there will be people who have season pass or pre-purchased tickets before the prices went up a lot.

I actually think places have been quieter than I expected. We have season passes at Paultons Park and have been every week in the summer. It's busy ish but not as busy as it would have been in summer 2019. 5-10 minute queues or less for most rides.

It's not really started yet. ..it will hit from October-march.

There’s another reason. The energy bill projections are based on average power consumption. Bills for highly insulated, well designed homes that are fitted with solar panels will increase far less than the average home.

Money is tight for us and I will certainly monitor my usage, however I have done things to limit the impact, I have bought logs, and an air fryer to minimise costs.
We won't be going on holiday for the foreseeable however this will free up money for a few day trips or UK holiday.

I think it hasn't hit a lot of people yet. I had booked for panto this Xmas in February. I've just booked a xmas illuminations event near to us and am about to book a halloween event too. When the bills hit, we will have to look at our finances and see what anything needs cutting back on. Its about priorities too, I'd like to redo our bathroom and ensuite (absolutely fine but was put in when house was built) but after the bills are paid I would rather put the money towards a family holiday abroad if it's achievable.

Of people I know well a few of my close long term friends are exceptionally well off, they have all retired in their very early fifties and the absorption of rising costs is nothing. I’m certainly comfortable but this lot are really very rich.

My younger relatives are concerned especially the ones with school aged children. MIL is a worry as she only has a state pension and is rapidly getting through her savings. My single women friends who are in their fifties are really worried as the burden is theirs alone.

People have pre-booked/ paid before the prices increase.

It's the first normal summer since the washout of 2019 so people have been making up for lost time or carrying on bookings from 2020/21 for major events.

For many people "cutting back" means reducing a fancy day trip or two or less in savings. The people pondering over how they can manage to eat and stay warm and dry their clothes without damp don't routinely spend huge amounts on leisure.

Take-aways boomed in The Credit Crunch because it was a financial downgrade from eating in a restaurant. Fancy restaurants were largely fine, it was the mid-price chains that have been hit in the past decade when belts tightened. For those ending up using a "fake-away" book and cooking at home, there was enough replacement of customers stepping down from pubs/ restaurants to replace them.

The media loves a "crisis" and while it is that for the people struggling with managing resources to survive, it's not a universal truth. It's dangerous for all if the media hyperbolises its way into scaring people into not spending money they do have and trigger a general recession where people already struggling risk losing their jobs. Price rises are real and problematic, but don't uneccesarily panic ourselves into additional damage to the economy.

A lot of the stuff we are doing has been pre booked.

Festival tickets.
Days out, and local holiday.

Pantomime for Christmas and days out for October have all been booked months in advance.

Less things are being booked for the future months but most of the days out over the next few months have already been prebooked. So next year unless things improve we will be doing fewer costly days out, and more free activities.

The cost of living crisis may not have filtered through yet, like us.

A lot of people who care about the environment and have the cash to do so have already installed solar panels, or taken energy efficiency measures. One lot of friends in this position calculate that the government hand outs will more or less cancel out the rise in costs and they will be no worse off.

A lot of people downgrade their spending. For me, I am not worried about affording bills but coffees out with friends have been replaced with a weekly delivery of wood roasted coffee beans from my favorite coffee shop and hosting friends in my home. Not everyone is open about their financial worries so it feels more thoughtful if I offer to host.

There is definitely something in the 'last hurrah' theory.

Personally I've been enjoying the summer with a few trips and holidays, although we cancelled our crazy golf plans yesterday which would have been £40 Inc travel costs for a family of 3, in favour of a picnic in the local park

Once the bank holiday is over and the new season begins I think a lot of people will start reigning it in.

We are neither rich nor poor and can afford the increases now but it's more the fear of what's to come that's making me batten down the hatches.

This forum will be dominated by people with small children, who are tied to the UK by schools etc but some retired people I know and some working age people who can work anywhere are moving abroad to the sun for the winter because it’s the same price or cheaper to live than stay at home, and is more pleasant.

These people with income to spend on leisure, including meals out, coffee shops etc will benefit economies overseas. These people will largely escape the massive price hikes. Inflation is high in a lot of places but in the UK it’s relatively higher.