West Wales town crowned UK’s boat holiday capital in new national survey

The Carmarthenshire town came out on top in a per-capita study of searches for boating holidays across the country during 2025.

The research, carried out by Richardsons Boating Holidays, analysed over 1.5 million monthly searches for boating holidays to understand the state of British tourism.

While London had the highest total number of searches with over 256,000 a month, the picture changed dramatically when adjusted for population.

Carmarthen had the highest search volume per person, with 0.47 searches for every resident in the town — equivalent to almost one search for every two people.

Truro in Cornwall was a close second with 0.46 searches per person, followed by Chichester and Ely.

Two other Welsh towns made the top ten, with Bangor in fifth place and Wrexham in eighth.

Greg Munford of Richardsons Boating Holidays said the data showed a growing desire for people to spend their holiday time on the water.

“We know that more and more, people are having to consider their options when it comes to how they spend their holiday time and where they spend it,” he said.

“Between deciding how best to spend their money, eco concerns and wanting to find new experiences, there are a lot of options out there, and people are increasingly looking to find something more than the traditional sand, sea and sun.”

Mr Munford added that the results were great news for people’s mental health, citing research on the benefits of being in so-called “blue spaces” like rivers and canals.

“It’s great to see that when people are looking to take time away from work, from the everyday things that cause stress, they’re exploring an option which can help them do just that, which is right on their doorstep,” he said.

UK’s Top 10 Boating Holiday Hotspots (Per Capita)