Cost of average family holiday up by hundreds

With the economic gloom and the financial climate in the state that it is in most people are ready to get away and take a break from the stresses of everyday life.

However, a recent report has shown that it is not just living costs and bills that have put strain on household finances lately. Apparently the cost of an average family holiday has also soared by hundreds of pounds.

According to the figures the cost of the average two week holiday for a family of four has gone up by £400 compared to last year. Also, in addition to the cost of the holiday being higher than last year the choice of destinations and holidays has actually fallen, so families do not get as much of a say in where they go.

One official from Thomas Cook said: ‘People are cutting back on their travel expenditure. This is all driven by the fact that costs are going up. Oil is soaring. It may have dropped back to $114 a barrel – but it was only $60 last year.’

He added: ‘Spain is the country where we are cutting back most on capacity. Holidaymakers are hit by the weakness of the pound against the euro. So not only do the holiday costs increase, so does the cost of going out for a meal. There are also higher food and labour costs in Spain.’