Families hit in half term holiday rip-off

 

Families taking holidays abroad this half-term are likely to be paying a premium of more than 50% for the privilege.

Family, beach holiday

Unfair?: Families face huge mark-ups to travel in the school holidays.

Businesses have put up the cost of some breaks by more than £1,000 during the school holiday. And the price gap can be as high as 269%.

Critics accused travel firms of holding parents to ransom at a time when they are already feeling the pinch from the soaring cost of living. The average price of a family holiday for four during the February break is 53% more than the same trip two weeks later.

The situation could encourage schools, which have been given the power over their own affairs under the Government's academy programme, to shift term dates to help parents.

The financial penalty for taking a holiday in the school break means many families will stay at home. There is also likely to be a rise in the number who break the rules, risking a fine, by taking their children out of school in term time.

Holiday companies have cut the number of foreign package holidays they will be offering this year because they expect families, struggling with big bills, to cut back on trips.

The price rises over half-term suggest they intend to take advantage of the school holiday period when sales are guaranteed.

The price figures come from a survey of breaks to the Canary Islands, Spain, Crete and Florida.

The worst example involved a holiday to the four star Rubicon Palace in Lanzarote. The price during half-term for a family flying from a London airport was 269% more than two weeks later. The £6,339 price represented a mark-up of £4,619 on the £1,720 charged for the same holiday in March.

The figures, compiled by Santander Credit Cards, also found a mark-up of more than £1,000 on a stay in Gran Canaria.

Head teachers have powers to issue penalty notices to parents who take term-time holidays without the school's consent.

But some families say they are prepared to accept the fines - which are £100 or £50 if paid within 28 days - because the cost is outweighed by the savings that can be made on off-peak holidays.

Holiday prices table