The Future of Holiday Parks and Campsites in the UK: Five Trends Operators Can’t Ignore
The UK holiday park and campsite sector has never stood still. Operators have continually adapted their businesses to changing holiday habits, economic pressures, new accommodation trends and rising guest expectations.
The next stage of that evolution is unlikely to be defined by one single trend. Instead, operators will need to balance affordability with quality, introduce technology without losing the human side of hospitality, manage increasingly complex utility demands and demonstrate meaningful progress on sustainability.
Domestic tourism remains a significant market. According to VisitBritain’s latest annual domestic tourism results, British residents took approximately 103 million domestic overnight trips in Britain during 2025. That was 2% fewer than in 2024, but total spending increased by 7% to £35.1 billion. (VisitBritain.org)
The opportunity is clearly still there, but operators cannot assume that demand will automatically translate into bookings. Here are five trends I believe holiday parks and campsites need to consider as they plan for the future.
1. Value Will Be Judged Across the Whole Experience
Guests are not necessarily looking for the cheapest possible holiday, but they are becoming more careful about where and how they spend their money.
In July 2026, VisitBritain’s Domestic Sentiment Tracker found that 74% of UK adults intended to take a domestic overnight trip during the following 12 months. However, its June research also found that 41% regarded the cost of accommodation as a barrier to taking a UK holiday or short break. (VisitBritain.org)
This creates an important distinction between price and value.
A guest may be prepared to pay more for better accommodation, strong facilities or a memorable experience, but they want to understand what they are receiving in return. Unexpected charges, unclear booking information or a poor arrival experience can quickly undermine that sense of value.
Operators can respond by making pricing and inclusions easier to understand, offering a suitable range of accommodation and pitch options, and communicating the full experience rather than competing solely on the headline price.
For independent campsites and holiday parks, local knowledge can be a particular advantage. Recommendations for walks, attractions, food, beaches and family activities can add value without requiring significant capital investment. Flexible booking options, clear pre-arrival information and thoughtful on-site service can be just as influential as a new facility.
The operators that thrive will be those that understand what their particular customers value and design the experience around them.
2. Digital Convenience Will Become Expected, but Hospitality Must Remain Human
Guests manage almost every other part of their lives digitally. They book travel online, use mobile banking, order food through apps and expect information to be available when they need it.
Holiday parks and campsites are increasingly being judged against those wider experiences, rather than only against their direct competitors.
Online booking, digital check-in, guest apps, self-service payments and automated pre-arrival communications can all remove friction from the customer journey. Behind the scenes, maintenance platforms, workforce tools and operational dashboards can help teams organise work and respond more quickly.
UKHospitality’s guidance on digital technology highlights its potential to automate administration, improve communication, streamline maintenance and compliance, and give managers better information for decision-making. (UK Hospitality)
However, technology should not be treated simply as a way of removing employees from an operation. In our recent In Conversation With episode with Josh Haywood, Resort Director at Crealy Theme Park & Resort, Josh explained that Crealy’s self-service food-ordering kiosks were increasing average transaction values by approximately 8% to 10%. Just as importantly, the technology allowed the business to redirect some staff time from taking orders towards keeping tables clean and improving the surrounding customer experience.
That is a useful model for the wider sector. Technology should take care of repetitive, transactional work so employees can focus on the areas where human interaction adds the most value.
A digital check-in process can reduce queues, but support should remain available for guests who need it. A guest app can make information easier to access, but it should not be used as a substitute for a helpful team. Self-service utility management can reduce routine account enquiries, while giving staff more time to deal with genuine problems.
The objective is not to make hospitality less personal. It is to give teams more time to deliver it well.
3. Utility Management Will Become a Commercial and Customer Experience Priority
Electricity, water and gas have traditionally been treated as background operating costs. For many sites, that is no longer sustainable.
Energy costs remain a concern across the wider business community. In Ofgem’s 2025 research into businesses’ experiences of the energy market, 27% of surveyed businesses said they were struggling with their energy bills in some way. (Ofgem)
At the same time, the demands being placed on holiday park infrastructure are changing. Guests are travelling with more electrical appliances and devices, while lodges, hot tubs, heating and increasingly sophisticated accommodation can create substantial demand. Water use and wastewater management are also becoming more important operational considerations, particularly during busy periods or prolonged dry weather.
In our conversation with Josh, he explained that Crealy had originally assumed its theme park rides were responsible for most of the business’s electricity consumption. When the team investigated the data, it discovered that the resort, including its accommodation, touring pitches, showers and hot tubs, accounted for around half of the electricity used across the entire business. Without that information, it would have been easy to continue focusing attention and investment in the wrong place.
Operators need to understand not only how much electricity, water or gas the site is using, but where it is being used, when demand is highest and whether particular areas are consuming more than expected.
Real-time monitoring can help identify unusual usage, leaks or potential faults before they become more costly. Historical data can support infrastructure planning, tariff reviews and decisions about future accommodation. Automated remote meter readings can reduce the time spent walking the site, recording figures and reconciling spreadsheets.
Clear, usage-based approaches such as fair usage or pay-as-you-go can be easier to explain than increasing every guest’s pitch fee to cover the behaviour of a small number of high users. When customers can see their own consumption, understand what is included and manage their account themselves, utility charging becomes more transparent.
Metpow’s smart utility management platform for holiday parks and campsites gives operators real-time visibility across their estates while supporting remote readings, guest self-service, fair usage and PAYG options. It can be introduced alongside new infrastructure via our partnership with Rolec or used to modernise existing systems with our ingenious retrofit smart meters for electricity, gas or water systems. (MetPow)
Utility management will increasingly sit at the intersection of cost control, infrastructure planning, sustainability and customer service. It is no longer simply a job for the accounts team at the end of the month.
4. Sustainability Will Need Evidence, Not Just Good Intentions
Sustainability is not necessarily the deciding factor for every holidaymaker, but it is becoming a more established part of how people assess accommodation and travel choices.
VisitBritain’s sustainable tourism research found that 29% of UK adults had specifically looked for sustainable holiday accommodation. The proportion agreeing that sustainable travel is important to them also increased from 28% in October 2023 to 31% in March 2026. (VisitBritain.org) The research also shows that operators should not treat sustainability as separate from the overall experience. The strongest motivation for booking sustainable accommodation was that it offered something unique or authentic.
For parks, this could include protecting natural habitats, supporting local suppliers, reducing waste, managing water responsibly or helping guests understand their own resource use. The strongest initiatives are often those that deliver both an environmental and an operational benefit.
The challenge is demonstrating that progress credibly. The Competition and Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code makes clear that environmental claims must be accurate and supported appropriately. Broad statements about being “green” or “eco-friendly” are becoming less persuasive and can create risk when there is little evidence behind them. (GOV.UK)
This makes reliable data increasingly valuable. Accurate electricity, water and gas information can help parks establish a baseline, monitor the effect of improvements and produce evidence for environmental reporting or accreditation. It can show whether consumption has fallen, whether a leak has been addressed or whether a new system is operating as intended.
Optional carbon offsetting can form part of a wider sustainability strategy, but it should complement efforts to understand and reduce consumption rather than replace them. The future will belong to operators that can demonstrate meaningful improvement, not simply communicate an ambition.
5. Climate Resilience Will Influence Infrastructure Investment
Holiday parks and campsites are particularly exposed to the natural environment. That is central to their appeal, but it can also make them vulnerable to extreme weather.
The Climate Change Committee identifies heatwaves, flooding, drought, storms, coastal erosion and wildfires among the major hazards facing the UK, with climate change increasing the frequency or severity of many of them. Its latest assessment also highlights heavier rainfall, wetter winters and growing pressure on infrastructure and water supplies. (The CCC)
For operators, climate resilience will need to become part of everyday business and infrastructure planning. That could involve reviewing drainage and flood routes, increasing shade, considering how lodges and communal facilities perform in extreme heat, managing water more carefully and updating fire-risk procedures during prolonged dry conditions.
Sites may also need to consider how weather affects electricity demand. A cold period can increase the use of heaters across accommodation, while extreme heat can increase demand for air con systems. Heavy rain may place pressure on drainage, wastewater infrastructure and access routes.
The answer will be different for every park. A coastal site will face different risks from a woodland campsite or an inland holiday park. The important step is to use site-specific information rather than relying on historic assumptions.
Utility data can contribute to that process by showing how demand changes with weather and occupancy, identifying abnormal consumption and informing decisions about future capacity. Real-time alerts can help teams respond to leaks or unusual usage more quickly, while historical information can support longer-term infrastructure planning.
Climate resilience is not only about protecting a site from one extreme event. It is about making sure the operation can continue to deliver a safe and reliable guest experience as conditions become less predictable.
Preparing for the Next Generation of UK Holidays
The future of holiday parks and campsites will not be determined by which operator introduces the most technology or builds the most facilities; it will be shaped by how well businesses understand their customers, their costs and their infrastructure.
Guests will continue to look for value, but value will encompass the entire experience. They will expect digital convenience, but still appreciate excellent personal service. They will pay more attention to sustainability, but expect claims to be credible. Meanwhile, operators will need better information to manage utilities, protect margins and prepare their sites for a changing climate.
The common thread across all five trends is visibility.
Operators that understand what is happening across their business can respond sooner, communicate more clearly and invest with greater confidence. Those still relying on estimates, disconnected systems and historic assumptions will find it increasingly difficult to keep pace.
At Metpow, we help holiday parks and campsites gain greater visibility and control over electricity, water and gas. By combining accurate utility data with remote monitoring and customer self-service, parks can reduce administration, recover costs more accurately and create a clearer, fairer experience for their guests.
Technology will not replace the qualities that make a great UK holiday park or campsite. Used effectively, it can give operators more time, information and control to deliver them.
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