A HOLIDAY park has seen a surge in sales as the staycation boom gathers pace amid fears about travelling abroad during the pandemic.

Mark Goodson, owner of Wayside Holiday Park near Pickering, said he had sold five holiday homes and one holiday lodge, worth £330,000 in total, since the lockdown eased.

“The demand has been quite extraordinary,” he said. “The interest in our park is a clear example that people don’t want to go abroad this year, and possibly not next year, because of fears about the Coronavirus pandemic.

“The idea of a staycation in the UK is now incredibly attractive for many, which is tremendous news for our embattled tourism industry. Certainly the surge in sales at Wayside has taken me back to the time when we first opened 45 years ago.

“Our park, situated in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors and within easy driving distance of Yorkshire’s beautiful coastline, is peaceful and pretty. It ticks many boxes for those wanting to get away from it all – safely and without any hassle. We place enormous emphasis on the safety of everyone on the park.

“Once it was announced that we could open in early July, we were looking forward to an exciting and productive year, following a record-breaking 2019, but we weren’t expecting anything like this. It’s been manic."