Weak pound expected to boost UK holidays

European holidays are likely to cost UK travellers at least twice that of equivalent holidays in Britain this year, according to a Devon and Cornwall travel specialist.

Blue Chip Vacations, which offers self-catering holidays, compared the accommodation prices on the continent with those in Britain and found that the costs were often double – or more.

For example, the travel operator says that a holiday for four at Torquay’s Manor House is priced at £596 for one week in May, as compared with similar accommodation in Majorca that is priced at £1,300 for the same week.

In December, the pound fell to record lows against the euro. Earlier in January, a report in Telegraph Travel noted that tour operators were experiencing an increase in inquiries regarding self-catering holidays in Britain. Hoseasons, one of the largest operators, said that its bookings on this type of holiday were up by 20 per cent.

This past week, a polled conducted by the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) showed escorted tour bookings in Europe down by nearly 40 per cent.

Online travel site Trivago.co.uk recently conducted a survey that found 75 per cent of Britons planning to cut back on holiday spending this year, including six per cent who said that they would be choosing less-expensive accommodation.

www.bluechipvacations.com

www.trivago.co.uk