Britons go into debt for holidays

BRITONS love their holidays so much they are willing to get into debt to get away from it all.

The typical worker spends a quarter of their disposable income on flights and hotels.

But 51 per cent are unwilling to make any cutbacks in their budgets to save up for their breaks.

And 22 per cent head off having borrowed money to fund the holiday, according to the UK’s biggest building society.

On average, Britons go on holiday twice a year at a cost of £855 per person each time.

Based on that average spend, a family of four could be paying £3,420 each time they go away together.

The figure equates to a quarter of the average annual family budget, or three months’ disposable income, based on the annual UK median disposable household income of £27,300.

It means that more than £2 in every £10 of income goes towards holidays, according to the poll of more than 2,000 British holidaymakers by the Nationwide Building Society.

Borrowed

Four in 10 people paid for their last holiday using savings while 22 per cent borrowed money.

Of those who went into debt, 88 per cent admitted it was the only way they could afford to go away.

Scott Manson, Nationwide’s head of banking and payment strategy, said: “Holidays are about enjoying ourselves and spending quality time with loved ones.

“But with many people saying they have to borrow money to be able to go away, it’s important that full costs are considered when setting a budget.”

The polling was backed up by analysis of official income data by Hitachi Personal Finance.

The research – using Office for National Statistics reports from the previous 10 years – found average weekly individual expenditure has increased by 1.4 per cent in the past 10 years, but weekly income has remained stagnant.

Vincent Reboul, managing director at Hitachi Personal Finance, said: “We expect to see growth in expenditure as costs rise. However, our insight shows us that it is the leisure markets that are driving the biggest growth, with clothing and footwear, communication and recreation seeing the most significant growth since 2007.

“This points towards consumer confidence despite the low levels of income growth.”