Bored Brits in lockdown have been pining for their favourite travel brands more than ever before, a new report by the personal finance experts at money.co.uk has revealed.

The new Brand-a-Lust Report takes the UK’s top brands from YouGov’s Consumer Popularity Ratings* and applies Google Trends** and Google Search Volume*** data, to reveal the UK most lusted-after brands during lockdown.

Data published by Pitchup reveals that one camping staycation was booked every three seconds during a peak last week. But which other travel brands have we been longing for during lockdown?

Travel brands within the report saw an average increase of 36% and a whopping 9.7M searches per month.

Four out of the top 10 brands are British holiday park brands, including Hoseasons, Haven, Center Parcs, and Butlins.

Affordable seaside resort Butlins topped the list with 186% more searches during lockdown, with holidaymakers in Portsmouth searching for their next seaside escape the most.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club, P&O Ferries and Brittany Ferries are all in the top 10 most searched for holiday brands as people looked for alternatives to flying.

Budget airline brand Jet2Holidays had 178% more searches during lockdown as holiday makers started looking for post-lockdown deals and dreaming of their next European break.

Closer to home, Hoseasons (173%), Brittany Ferries (162%) and the Caravan and Motorhome Club (137%) came in third, fourth and fifth positions, respectively. With those living in Sheffield, Exeter and Preston searching for their next holiday getaway.

Just two luxury brands made the top 10, James Villa Holidays (98%) and Sandals Resorts (92%), with the most searches in Manchester and Peterborough.

Of the 39 travel brands in the report, 18% were staycation-friendly, 61.5% were overseas focused and 10.5% were ferry/cruise brands. The seven staycation brands saw an average 101% increase in searches compared to overseas (23%) and cruise/ferry brands (20%).

Airline brands saw a 43% increase in searches during lockdown. Of the eight overseas travel brands in the study, Jet2Holidays topped the list and was the top airline.

Most-Searched Airline Brands During Lockdown

1. Jet2Holidays: +178%
2. TUI: +71%
3. First Choice: +56%
4. Thomson Holidays: +55%
5. easyJet holidays: +53%
6. British Airways Holidays: -9%
7. Virgin Holidays: -17%
8. Thomas Cook: -39%

Sadly, it was a different story for travel brands such as; Expedia, Lonely Planet, British Airways Holidays, Virgin Trains, Virgin Holidays, Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Irish Ferries, Princess Cruises, Opodo, Riviera Travel, Lastminute.com, and Viking Ocean Cruises as they all saw a decrease in searches.

In last positions were online travel and leisure retailer Lastminute.com (-64%) and cruise experts Viking Ocean Cruises (-74%). Although travel lovers in Reading and Cardiff were still searching for these travel brands.

The Brand-a-Lust study applied Google search data to 375 popular brands to measure how we’ve been pining for them during the UK’s lockdown period and with many more shops opening their doors, the temptation may be there to head out a splurge on the brands we have been longing after.

However, as money.co.uk’s personal finance expert Salman Haqqi, explained: “With non-essential shops slowly beginning to reopen their doors to the general public, it might be tempting to head out and splash the cash on some of our favourite brands to celebrate. However, it’s worth making sure that you are getting the best deal possible and sticking to a budget, no matter how enticing the prices may look.

“The novelty of visiting a bricks and mortar store is appealing, but it’s likely that better deals and lower prices can still be found online. Try visiting the virtual high street first to do your research, before you head out onto the physical high street; especially if you’re using a credit card to fund your purchases.”