Families stung by ‘outrageous’ price hikes of more than £1,000
FAMILIES are paying more than £1,000 more for a break during the school holidays than during termtime, figures suggest.
A new report reveals the soaring cost of taking a family trip during the six-week break, with prices around 50% higher during this peak period, compared with just a few weeks earlier.
Travel experts suggested that allowing schools to set their own term dates is a “good first step” to reducing sharp price hikes, but this needs to be co-ordinated to allow demand to be spread over a longer period. The findings come on the day the Supreme Court ruled against a father who took his daughter out of lessons for a term-time holiday to Disney World, Florida, in April 2015.
An analysis by FairFX found that the average price for a package holiday for a family of four goes up by £1,310 if they travel in August, compared with travelling in June – a hike of around 55%.
And the same family of four would pay around £905 more – a 32% increase – to travel in August compared with four weeks earlier at the start of July.
The figures are based on an analysis of the cost of 104 package holidays, travelling on August 5, compared with four weeks earlier and eight weeks earlier.
FairFX chief Ian Strafford-Taylor said: “Despite national outcry and a legal battle reaching the Supreme Court, the industry has ignored the plight families are facing who are worried about the escalating cost of their holiday.
“Families accept they’re likely to pay more to travel within peak holiday times but some of the price hikes we’re seeing are outrageous and bring the industry into disrepute.
“There’s an obvious supply-anddemand mechanic behind pricing strategies, but with the cost of holidays being hiked so incredibly, it’s not fair on families and these extreme cases need addressing.
“No parent should feel that they have no other option than to take their child out of school.”
Travel association ABTA said: “More people in the UK and across Europe want to take holidays in July and August, at Easter and at Christmas, therefore prices rise during these times.”