Campsites hopeful of busy Easter amid tax rise

Helen Scott said the National Insurance bill for workers at Cofton Holidays is rising

The owners of two campsites in Devon have said they are hopeful of a busy Easter but are concerned about National Insurance increases for employers coming in next month.

Last year Visit Devon said high rainfall and the cost of living crisis contributed to a 15% decline in visitor numbers compared with 2023.

Helen Scott from Cofton Holidays in Dawlish said good weather during the spring has seen 25% better bookings for Easter this year compared with 2024, but she faced a £200,000 increase in National Insurance contributions.

Mrs Scott said the National Insurance increase for a workforce ranging from180 to 220 people in the summer "is coming in as one big hit" and "we're finding very difficult".

'Massive difference'

In the budget in October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced employers' National Insurance contributions would rise in April from 13.8% to 15% on earnings above £175.

The threshold at which employers start paying the tax on salaries will be reduced from £9,100 per year to £5,000.

The Employers Allowance, which businesses can claim back, is increasing from £5,000 to £10,500.

Mrs Scott said: "It's going to make a massive difference on what we spend on our wages. The budget's going up massively."

She said it will knock the amount they can invest in the business and is likely to affect smaller companies even more.

"I think it's quite short sighted. I do feel that tourism isn't greatly supported."

She said: "It just pushes up prices.

"People perhaps aren't spending as much as they used to.

"They're more careful with the money in their pocket."

Bridget Trewin from the family-run Westacott Farm Camping, on the north Devon coast at Abbotsham, added: "It's not all about putting the prices up.

"I'd rather keep our prices where they are, fairly lowish and get more people in, because then it makes the atmosphere so much nicer.

"If you put the prices up, you don't gain anything at the end."

She said the camp site has already been full for several weekends this year and the good weather has helped bookings.