With longer working hours and less quality time than ever, parents see annual family holidays as a necessity rather than luxury. Well summer and peak prices are around the corner, so best start saving
Research shows that money is the greatest barrier when it comes to family holidays, and all the more so with the Every Lesson Counts campaign now prohibiting parents from taking their children on holiday during term time.
Families therefore end up having to holiday when prices are at their peak. According to Mintel research as many as 16 per cent of families cannot afford to take a main holiday each year, and around 10 per cent never take one at all.
Research by Thomas Cook shows that families no longer see their holidays as a luxury, but one of the bare necessities of life. Whether they borrow, beg or steal, 32 per of parents will take one anyway.
And when they do, they tend to spend around £2,000 on the summer and winter break combined, much of which is financed by personal borrowing.
Ditch the borrowing
Rising interest rates often end up biting back, however, so a little smart budgeting and belt-tightening may be a better solution, whether you are headed for the Caribbean, Egypt or Spain.
Mintel's research shows that only 31 per cent of parents set a holiday budget, but Jo Westwood, head of savings sales and marketing at Birmingham Midshires, says that putting a few financial measures into place now can ease many of your worries later - even if summer seems a long way off.
'Savings shouldn't be seen as a luxury but instead as a necessity for rainy day emergencies, retirement and more pressingly, children,' she says. ‘With parents expected to spend around £470 [just] entertaining their kids throughout the summer, it is important to make sure that you are financially prepared.'
