Hang on, we’re downsizing now
Saturday, 28 Mar, 2011
0
Another day, another set of figures.
Whilst Travelmole was assured by HolidayExtras last week that Brits were asking for longer parking durations, which indicated they were extending the average seven and 14-day trip, now new information from The Cooperative Travel says actually we are all downsizing our breaks.
The travel agency tells us that based on over three million holidays taken between 2005 and 2009, its own number crunching shows that people are now wanting four nights breaks instead of seven and 10 nights instead of 14.
Cooperative says it has seen a 50% rise in demand for four night holidays while the figure asking for ten nights has rocketed by a whopping 162%. These numbers coincide with a marked decline in the number of people taking seven and 14 night breaks.
But the study highlights that this may be a false economy because the average per night cost of shorter breaks is much higher than longer stay per-night costs.
The company cites the average per night cost of a 14-night holiday is £65.19 compared to £82.70 for a 10 night break. Seven nights averages at £74.71 per night compared to £112.59 for a four night equivalent.
Director of retail distribution for The Co-operative Travel Trevor Davis said: "For a number of years now travel agents have had the ability to offer totally flexible holiday bookings, giving customers the opportunity to tailor a trip to meet their exact requirements.
"Many people have seen this as an opportunity to try to make their holiday budget stretch further, shaving a few days off their break in an effort to reduce costs.
"This saves you money on living expenses or extras, such as a hire car, but may mean that you’re not getting the best value for money as far as your actual booking is concerned.
"The mainstream holiday industry is still based on weekly blocks, with hotels and flight capacity based around set ‘changeover’ days. For this reason anything that breaks with the norm is often penalised with higher prices.
“We’d encourage anyone looking at downsizing their holiday to ask their travel agent to also provide the cost of a 7 or 14 night break. People can then look at the per-night costs and work out whether they’re saving as much as they first thought.”
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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