Holiday vouchers proposed to help poorest families
The Family Holiday Association is trying to persuade the Government to launch a voucher scheme to enable poorer families to take holidays they could otherwise not afford.
Director John McDonald said he was hoping that an All Party Parliamentary group set up to look at the benefits of ‘social tourism’ would recommend a pilot scheme to help some of the 2.5m families who never get a break.
Although details have yet to be discussed, McDonald said the scheme could work along similar lines to childcare vouchers, with families able to buy holiday vouchers out of their pre-tax income.
He said that far from this being yet another drain on the ailing public purse, helping poorer families to go on holiday could bring social and economic benefits. He claimed other countries in Europe had already recognised the value of social tourism and were reaping the rewards.
In France, a holiday voucher scheme enabled seven million families to take a break last year, adding €3bn to the economy, said McDonald, and the Spanish got back €1.5 for every €1 they spent on holiday vouchers for the retired.
"Social tourism is not widely accepted in this country but in the rest of Europe it is huge," said McDonald. "The first step for us is to get it on the public radar, then we can move on to look at how it will work."
The Family Holiday Association, a charity supported by the travel industry, takes 2,500 families on holiday every year but McDonald said more should be done to help the 2.5m poorest families to get a break within the UK.
The All Party Parliamentary group, led by Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, will look at evidence from schemes already running in France, Spain and Belgium and present an interim report to the Government in early July.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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