The fact that few of us are likely to be venturing beyond UK shores this year for our holidays (what are they?!) should signal a bonanza time for retailers located in UK hotspots.
Ditching its passport, PG Buzz ventured to the South West to find out how Alison Aitchison, co-owner of Presents of Dawlish in South Devon is ready and waiting to welcome the wave of staycationers in her part of the world.
Over to Pam to share her thoughts…
“Presents of Dawlish is a large family run gift and card shop with a Thorntons franchise in the heart of the lovely seaside resort of Dawlish. We opened our doors 25 years ago selling gifts, jewellery and T-shirts and relied heavily on the holiday trade.
As the holiday trade started to decline as package holidays became more popular and affordable and the laws changed around taking children out of school during term time, we included cards hoping to attract locals into the shop all year round. This section has just grown and grown over the years and we now have one of the biggest selections of cards in the South West.
Dawlish has always been a popular holiday destination for both short breaks and longer family breaks. This year we are excited that many more people will be staying in the town and local area for the first time due to the uncertainty around foreign holidays. We have a holiday let property in Dawlish and we are already fully booked until the end of September. The local holiday parks have all experienced unprecedented demand this year too. 2021 is definitely the year of the staycation! With visitor numbers definitely up, we are expecting a boom season from now onwards…exciting times for us all!”
What are you doing to capitalise on the UK holiday mood?
“We sell a variety of products celebrating the town, including cards, magnets, cushions, coasters etc and one of our three windows is dedicated to Dawlish and seaside products.
The town is well known for its black swans as well as the famous Brunel railway line. These two icons feature in our retro ranges from Impact Souvenirs. We also stock a range of cards from local railway artist John Austin as well as Nigel Quiney’s black swan card from its Pizzaz range.
My husband is a keen photographer and each year he produces a Dawlish calendar for us to sell in the shop. We are hoping to produce a range of his photographic cards later in the year.
Our regular, local customers predominantly buy cards with the occasional gift. The visitors tend to buy more gifts (treating both themselves and others) although over the last few years many more buy cards as well. In fact, we now have holidaymakers making a bee line for our card section with a list of all the cards they need for the period until they visit again!”
What would be your ‘must visit’ tip for those visiting Dawlish?
“If I had to pick one thing you ‘must do’ when visiting Dawlish, it would be to follow the stream flowing through the lawns in the middle of the town and discover the famous Black Swans of Dawlish and other wildfowl. It’s an easy walk that’s suitable for everyone. Another ‘must do’ is to hop onto the train and discover the fabulous coastline in both directions.”
If there was a magic carpet waiting (and no pandemic) where would you want to go?
“My dream holiday was to visit Peru and walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I was lucky enough to do this two years ago and I fell in love with South America. So, my magic carpet would take me to South America, maybe Chile for starters!”
Top: The train line runs close to the coast near Dawlish.
