Many farms have diversified into holiday letting - but what will next year bring for holiday let owners?

Carter Jonas notes that costs are up for holiday accommodation owners and holiday makers will be watching their spend, so competition is likely to centre around the quality of accommodation.

Rural leisure businesses are seeing a rise in their overheads, especially the rise of energy costs and domestic oil heating prices.

The increase in interest rates, inflation and energy costs are putting households under pressure and as people look forward to planning their holidays next year, they will be looking closely at their holiday expenditure.

During the last economic downturn from 2008-2012, people chose to holiday within the UK over going abroad to save money.

Stephen Richards, head of rural leisure for Carter Jonas, said: “The quality of accommodation you offer is going to be paramount as people decide to holiday in the UK and not go abroad as people tighten their purse-strings.

"There are strong trends within the market for wellness retreats, unique experiences and the sustainability of the business.

"The challenge for any leisure operator is to identify the opportunities and to reinvest profits made over the last couple of years back into their businesses.”

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He believes that popular coastal resorts and National Parks will continue to do well.

The rise in energy costs will be problematic and operators need to have a long-term solution in place and many leisure operators are looking to renewable energy to save costs in the future, especially if they have spa facilities on site including a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi/hot tubs or an indoor heated swimming pool, which have high energy use.

Many rural properties have oil-fired central heating which is obviously not sustainable and a renewable energy scheme must be the way forward - such as a biomass boiler or solar panels.