The war in Ukraine is having impacts far beyond its borders – including a spike in stag and hen dos to Bristol, according to one prenuptial party firm. Last Night of Freedom has named Vladimir Putin as the reason bookings in Bristol have surged 115 percent since February, the largest increase seen anywhere in the UK.
Best men and maids of honour who would normally book boozy holidays in Eastern Europe have been put off by the ongoing conflict, opting instead for sordid staycations. Bookings to Krakow in Poland fell by as much as 60 percent, while Budapest breaks to Hungary dropped by 45 percent and trips to Riga in Latvia by 39 percent, LNOF says.
But the Balkans’ loss has been Bristol’s gain, with stag and hen parties here more than doubling since February. This weekend alone will see 43 LNOF party groups visit the city – more than Las Vegas, Hamburg and Blackpool.
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Managing director Matt Mavir said: “After two years of Covid, we’d anticipated a boom across Europe and Britain, but Putin put a spanner in the works for a good chunk of the continent. Stags and hens generally don’t scrimp on their weekend and local hotels, bars, restaurants and activity providers will all have benefitted from the extra visitors.”
The firm expected Bristol – which is “naturally a great stag and hen party venue” – to have a bumper year, but not the boom it is currently experiencing. “Business was always going to pick up following two years of rules and restrictions. The public were desperate to get away,” said Matt.
“Plus there were effectively three years of weddings to cram into one season. However, Bristol has overperformed and we believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a significant contributing factor.”
LNOF is still encouraging breaks to the former Soviet bloc, even donating ten percent of profits on holidays booked there to refugee charities. According to the United Nations, over 12 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland since the war started almost five months ago.
“As soon as it happened, business in the bloc effectively stopped,” Matt explained. “There was great uncertainty, especially in those first few weeks, and I think a lot of customers would have found it difficult to party near a warzone and a humanitarian crisis.
“During spring and summer, Eastern Europe is typically teeming with stags and hens so the drop in bookings is a cruel, devastating blow,” he added. “Much of their tourism and hospitality sector is built around stags and hens so the war has been nothing short of a nightmare for them.”
Anyone with upcoming bookings to Eastern Europe can rest assured that the area remains largely as normal. “After five months of fighting, the war is still contained to Ukraine while our partners in places like Poland said you don’t notice any real difference,” said Matt.
But for those seeking a raunchy retreat in Britain, Bristol still has plenty to offer – from West Country Games and flower crown workshops to strip club steak dinners and butlers in the buff.
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