The Cotswolds are becoming a huge tourist destination with overseas visitors. Holiday Lodges, the tourism company, carried out research that showed over 4.2 million people are searching for Cotswolds-related terms on Google. Interestingly, Australians show the third-highest interest levels in the world, with Americans topping the research list.
Why the Cotswolds appeal
The Cotswolds are famous for their honey stone cottages, rolling green hills and ancient cobbled streets, creating an olde worlde storybook feel that beguiles tourists looking for a traditional English countryside holiday. It’s become a hotspot for numerous celebrities too, which helps to create even more interest in the area, which now combines a buzzing social scene and modern luxury with rural tranquillity.
It’s also well set up for tourists with an explosion in Cotswolds guided tours and coach holidays by providers such as //cotswoldtour.co.uk/cotswolds-private-tours/classic-cotswolds-guided-tour/, making it easier for overseas visitors to access the area.
Where to go
Chipping Norton is one of the most popular areas in The Cotswolds, followed by Moreton-in-Marsh, Great Tew, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Broadway. However, the area is trying to avoid over-tourism, with inundated parishes like Bourton-on-the-Water demanding that councils restrict tourist coaches, which cause issues on narrow roads, attracting some 300,000 visitors a year when the local population is only 4,000 strong.
Local councils are now trying to promote other lesser-known parts of The Cotswolds to spread the tourism load and improve diversification, to avoid overstressing local amenities, facilities, roads and communities. In the meantime, the trend for overseas visitors to the Cotswolds shows no signs of easing up.
