As tough times continue Hen and Stag celebrations return to the UK

04 June 2009

With the summer wedding season almost upon us and plentiful hen and stag parties undoubtedly at preparation stage, new research from Virgin Trains has revealed that the UK is turning out to be the preferred location for pre-wedding frivolities in 2009. As the average Brit spends £90.79 on a stag/hen party in the UK, compared to £170 abroad*, it’s easy to see why the focus of the ‘last big party’ has shifted closer to home.

The leading West Coast rail provider, Virgin Trains, has found that when it comes to hen and stag celebrations there is certainly a marked difference between the sexes – men spend more! On average men fork out £119.78 on a UK stag do compared to just £75.56 spent by women. However, and perhaps to be expected, Londoners spend the most amount of money on stag and hen parties with the average being £164.96 per celebration – almost twice the national average. Other extravagant spenders include those from Bristol and Leeds with the most frugal stag and hen party attendees coming from Edinburgh and Northampton who spend on average £50.86 and £44.31 per celebration respectively.

Overall London tops the list of preferred hen/stag do destinations (24%) followed by Manchester (14%), Birmingham (11%), Brighton (9%) and Glasgow (8%). The least favoured locations for a pre-wedding knees up are Sheffield, Belfast, Plymouth and Norwich.

Other interesting facts:

Men are 2 ½ times more likely to use the journey to start the drinking (13% vs 5%).

Secretive stags and hush-hush hens – almost a fifth of Brits make a pact not to reveal what happened on a stag/hen do (17%) – 20% of men and 15% of women.

The same percentage of people say they have experienced someone getting naked as have been on a cultural trip during a stag/hen do (11%).

30% of Brits feel that the journey is key for getting in the mood for the party and 22% use it to get to know each other.

1 in 10 of us are having joint hen and stag celebrations – perhaps fuelled by the recession – and those aged 25-35 and live in London are most likely to do this.

2% of respondents said the wedding did not go ahead as a result of behaviour on the hen or stag do.

To encourage our stags and hens to party in the UK Virgin Trains is this month launching a brand new ‘large group’ product. From Monday 22nd June there will be new levels of fares, across both standard and first class, for groups of 10 people or more. Passengers travelling in groups will be able to benefit from greater flexibility and cheaper tickets making a UK hen or stag party even more appealing.

Says Jim Rowe, Senior Communications Manager Virgin Trains, “In a difficult economic climate it is perhaps not surprising that people are choosing not to travel abroad so much for their stag and hen parties. There is something for everyone in the UK and with the Virgin Trains new West Coast timetable now in place with more frequent off peak services and cheap tickets, travelling by train really is the ideal option. Additionally, if tickets are booked well in advance of departure date they are less expensive so you may even be able to take advantage of the brand new menu in first class!”

For further information go to www.virgintrains.com.
For group bookings of over 10 passengers telephone 0870 010 4490.

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For further information please contact Sophie Lennon or Mindy Bhachu at The SPA Way on 020 7403 6900 or email mindy.bhachu@thespaway.com



Notes to Editor:
*Research taken from hotels.com 2008.