Prices to some holiday destinations have risen nearly five times the rate of inflation this summer – but other vacation hotspots popular with British tourists have fallen
Families booking a summer holiday face inflation-busting price hikes of up to 11.5%, an investigation has found.
Consumer group Which? compared the cost of more than 8,000 package breaks this year with last year. Researchers looked at prices of holidays available last January for an August departure with those this month for the peak August getaway.
The average increase was discovered to be 4.2%, above the rate of inflation of around 2.5%, with some destinations having shot up a lot more than others. The increase risking adding hundreds of pounds to the typical cost of a couple or a family heading abroad this summer.
Which? says the jump is due to a combination of factors, from ongoing strong demand as well as higher costs for hotels and airlines.
The biggest rise was on holidays to Bulgaria’s Black Sea coastal resorts, where prices have typically leapt by 11.5% since last summer. The average package break to the country has gone from £1,038 per person last summer to £1,157 this August, Which? said, a jump of £238 for a couple and potentially nearly £480 for a family-of-four.
Researchers discovered holiday prices to Italy were 7.4% more. The average cost of a package there has shot up from £1,163 to £1,249 – an increase of £172 for a couple and more with kids, depending on the deal.
Which? said there had been steep price rises in upmarket Italian destinations like Lake Garda and Sorrento, which have seen increases of £94 and £81 per person respectively. There are less dramatic in regions such as Sardinia, which has seen an average rise of just £38 per person.
Portugal, meanwhile, had seen prices rise by 6.8%. The average cost of package to the country, popular with Brits for breaks to the Algarve, had gone from £1,267 last August to £1,353 this year.
It was a similar picture in Cyprus, where prices have risen by an average 6.4%, from a typical £1,241 per person to £1,321. While prices in other popular destinations for UK travellers have risen, the increases have not been quite as much.
Croatia, Spain and Greece have seen price increases of less than 3% on average, Which? found. And a few destinations have actually witnessed a fall in prices since last year.
They include the popular hotspot of Ibiza, where prices have tumbled by 6.4% on average, from £1,269 per person to £1,187, a saving of around £164 per couple. And holidays to Tenerife are around 2% cheaper, falling from £1,200 to £1,175.
The boss of budget airline easyJet, which also has a package holiday arm, tried to allay concerns over prices. Kenton Jarvis, its chief executive, speaking to the Mirror this week, claimed prices would be broadly similar year-on-year.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “While inflation has started to ease over the last year, our latest research has shown holiday prices bucking the trend, with a combination of increased demand, alongside rising energy and fuel costs, contributing to higher prices for holidaymakers. Booking early is almost always your best chance of securing the best rate – so now is the best time to get the cheapest prices on summer holidays.
“Take the time to shop around, and if you’re holidaying with kids, consider travelling in the last week of summer holidays, as we’ve previously found this can be the cheapest week in the peak season.”
