Easter holiday prices drop 50% over Brexit fears
FAMILIES can now grab an Easter getaway bargain as holiday prices have been slashed amid Brexit fears.
The cost of a sunshine break is being cut by up to 50 per cent the week immediately following Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union on March 29.
Holidaymakers happy to depart on that date can go to the Algarve in Portugal for up to 47 per cent less than a fortnight earlier, or to Costa Blanca in south-east Spain for 48 per cent less. Emma Coulthurst, of comparison site TravelSupermarket.com, said: ‘In all of the time I have worked in travel, I have never ever seen prices like this across so many destinations.’
She said there had also been a rise in searches for long-haul package holidays such as the Caribbean and Africa.
Ordinarily, holiday firms hike their prices at this time of year as the weather warms up. But experts say with No Deal currently in place, firms are offering heavy discounts to entice holidaymakers who could be nervous over the implications for flights, visas, currency, car hire and health cover.
Miss Coulthurst said Brexit uncertainty ‘is clearly having an effect on some people’s decision’ to travel to Europe and added that the current discounts are ‘really unheard of.’
Among the most affordable
‘Unprecedented discounts’
Easter holiday deals is a sevenday trip to the Algarve for a family of four at £432.
This is more than £200 cheaper – a 23 per cent drop – than last year’s best deal, which was a week in Benidorm at £668.
Another bargain is a seven- night stay on the Costa Brava in north-east Spain, also for a family of four, for £444 – a 24 per cent discount on last year’s price.
And a similar trip to Corfu in Greece should cost a family £496, which is 17 per cent less than the previous year.
Meanwhile, many Britons are considering destinations as far away as Bali, Zanzibar and Jamaica.
Bookings for destinations outside the European Union have increased close to 50 per cent on last year.
Travel firm TUI said it has seen summer bookings to Turkey rise by 45 per cent year on year, while bookings to Egypt have risen 49 per cent. A spokesman added: ‘When it comes to summer holiday bookings, we’ve seen significant growth in the popularity of mid-haul travel, with destinations such as Egypt and Turkey taking higher bookings than we’ve seen over the past few years.
‘All-inclusive continues to be performing extremely well... as it gives customers the chance to feel comfortable and take control over their spending.’
Thomas Cook is also providing customers with a ‘Brexit Price Guarantee’ which promises the cost of their holidays will not increase – no matter what happens with Brexit.