The Hop Farm named top-selling site in south east by Pitchup.com

The Hop Farm in Tonbridge, Kent has been named by Pitchup.com as its top-selling site in the south east for 2015.

The figures, compiled from Pitchup.com’s bookings for 1,605 camping and caravan sites throughout Europe, show The Hop Farm led the way for visitors to the south east in 2015, bringing an impressive 1,047 bookings to the region, 195% more than last year and 164% ahead of its nearest regional competitor.

Early bookings for the new year suggest The Hop Farm is set to maintain its momentum in 2016.

Dan Yates, founder of outdoor accommodation specialist Pitchup.com, commented: “The south east attracted 2.4m searches by our customers in 2015 and is a very strong destination for our client base. Most of our visitors are drawn to the region, and Kent in particular, due to its stunning countryside, historic towns and villages, tourist attractions, National Trust properties and proximity to London.”

The Hop Farm is centrally located for all that Kent has to offer including the popular Hop Farm and Family Park, which is right next door. It is a large camping and touring park situated over 500 acres of open fields and woodland, offering grass and hardstanding pitches with optional electric hook up. Onsite facilities include a receptions, toilets, showers and washroom with amenities available from the nearby shops. The River Medway flows right through the campsite, making it possible to enjoy canoeing, kayaking or even a spot of fishing.

Commenting on the success, Miguel Fenton, Head of Marketing & Sales & PR at The Hop Farm said: “It’s great news to hear we are the best-selling site in the south east for 2015. It has been a pleasure working with Pitchup.com. Their profile and vast number of clients enables us to promote our site, via a range of platforms, to a much wider audience. We hope this accolade will help drive more bookings to our campsite from those who’ve not been before, selecting us on the back of our popularity.”

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Notes to editors:

Caravanning and camping is the most popular type of accommodation for domestic holidays

• In 2014, there were 13.3m domestic camping and caravan holiday trips in Britain, more than the number of UK residents who holidayed in Spain, Portugal and Turkey combined
• Brits spent 13% more nights on domestic camping and caravan holidays than staying at hotels or motels, and 5x more than at guest houses or B&Bs

Strong growth as ‘staycation’ persists

• Between January and July 2015, domestic camping and caravan trips had increased by 9% compared to the same period in 2014, with nights up 13% and spend 2%
• 58% of British residents' holiday trips took place domestically in 2014, compared to 53% in 2008. The number of foreign holidays taken by UK residents was 15% lower in 2014 than in 2008
• Britain third largest camping and caravanning nation in Europe, after France and Germany

Source: National Statistics, Visit England, Eurostat

For media information:
Contact Cass Helstrip or Jardine Howlett at White Tiger PR
jardine.howlett@whitetigerpr.com 07866 508737
cass.helstrip@whitetigerpr.com 07968 255464

About Pitchup.com

Founded in 2009 by former lastminute.com man, Dan Yates, multi-award winning Pitchup.com lists over 1,500 outdoor accommodation locations in 18 countries, providing users with a simple platform where they can search for and book a holiday with ease.

In 2013 Pitchup.com became the first business of its type to launch a bookable mobile app and site, making the site easily accessible to users of mobile and tablet devices. The mobile site, m.pitchup.com, now accounts for 25% of bookings.

Pitchup.com enables users to search for all types of parks and sites from more than 60 chains right through to one-off campsites and unique outdoor accommodation options, which may have previously lacked a web presence.

Awards include Best UK Travel Website of the Year at the British Travel Press Awards 2011, Best Travel / Leisure / Sports / Mobile Strategy / Campaign at the Marketing on Mobile Awards 2014, and most recently ‘Best Place to Stay – Budget’ at The Independent Travel Awards 2015 ("a website that’s doing wonders connecting us with the countryside in Britain and beyond").