With the recession still weighing heavily on many peoples minds and the strain on our budgets its unsurprising that many people are choosing to take their holidays domestically rather than incur the added expenses of travelling abroad. The relative costs of staying in the UK compared to travelling abroad do offer significant savings for travellers. The savings to be made on flights alone will in many cases cover the costs of living and staying while on holiday in the UK.

 The recession has actually been fairly good news for UK tourism as visits to the country actually saw an increase of 3% in 2011 and the number of UK holidays rose by a staggering 6% last year which translated into a 15% rise in spending by British tourists in the UK. The UK holiday industry is set to perform well in 2012 as the increased costs of living and other expense rises continue to take their toll on external travel. We also will be playing host to the Olympics which means that tens of thousands of Brits will flock to the nations capital to take in some of the fantastic sporting events on offer and further bolster UK travel.

 The truth is that there are plenty of good reasons to travel in the UK this year. The costs savings are fantastic with many people renting cottages, and apartments at a fraction of what they cost abroad. The savings on flights mean that you can stay in a more luxurious hotel or B&B and still save money. Further, the UK has a diverse range of locations and scenery to explore and the summer is promising to be hot meaning beach holidays and plenty of sun to enjoy. The UKs countryside is absolutely stunning and our beaches are beautiful providing it doesnt rain of course.

 At the moment the most popular UK travel destinations are London, Cornwall, Cumbria and Scotland . These have always been popular spots but bookings are on the rise significantly with more people visiting these gorgeous parts of the country. The popularity of UK holiday destinations is predicted to rise dramatically in the coming years by many research firms who are claiming that by 2027 domestic holidays will have risen by around 21 million. In turn research suggests that 129 million holidays will be taken each year by that stage as people capitalize on our improving weather and continue to keep a tighter rein on their own finances. Economically this is incredibly good news as it will generate around 15billion pounds in internal revenue and seriously boost many local economies.

 However, research from ABTA has also revealed that only 44% of UK travellers have an insurance policy for travelling domestically and that many people choose to ignore it on the basis of not needing the health cover. This is an interesting position that is indicative of our assumptions about travel insurance cover. Of course, if you take a holiday at home you are covered on the National Health Service but travellers do need to realize that the other levels of cover are still equally important as many insurance providers are now warning.

Unexpected events, redundancy or cancellations are all covered by insurance policies as are additional expenses or mishaps that can easily befall us travelling. Many of us assume that UK travel is safer than going abroad and, while this is vaguely true, there is still the chance of falling victim to accidents or petty theft that is worth considering. If youre trying to keep things cheap and holiday in the UK its probably better to have an insurance policy for a few pounds than to add hundreds of pounds in extra costs to your trip.

ABTAs research also indicates that only 44% of Britons holidaying in the UK purchase travel insurance, leaving the remainder at risk of losing their money should they have to cancel because of illness or redundancy.