Nearly a third of Brits feel ripped off when booking a holiday
Nearly a third of Brits say they feel as if they have been ripped off when booking a holiday, according to a report commissioned by Teletext Holidays.
The Great British Holiday Report, based on an online survey of 1,775 Brits, found 31% felt they had been ripped off.
Teletext Holidays said it believed the dissatisfaction was down to the new culture of "extras".
"It is certainly the case that the travel industry has undergone major changes, especially with the growth in no frills, low-cost airlines," said Amy Patel from Teletext Holidays
"The cost cutting that needs to go into creating these cheap flights have had a massive impact on how package holidays are put together today. By regulation, our governing bodies state that any two items sold at the same time constitute a package holiday.
"Therefore, more often than not, the all new package holiday now consists of only a flight and the accommodation. This in itself is not unusual for the customer, as there have always been extras to pay for; these include insurance and airport parking etc.
"However this has introduced a new culture of extras, like transfers and fees which are often added at a later stage in the booking process. This saw the emergence of a new trend in the holiday market, something we call the dynamic package holiday."
The report also looked at booking patterns and found that 23% of Brits book within two months of travel and 67% book within six months of departure.
Of these, 12% book within a month of travel, possibly enticed by last-minute offers.
It also highlighted marked differences between the sexes, with men the most likely to book a last minute deal and women almost twice as likely to book more than a year in advance.
The average holiday spend is £554.40 per person, although 45% spend £400 or less, with just 17% spending more than £800.
The report showed that when travelling overseas, the most popular countries for families are:
1.Spain
2.France
3.USA
4.Greece
5.Italy
The most popular cities are:
1.Barcelona
2.Paris
3.Dublin
4.Rome
5.Amsterdam
The most popular beach resorts are:
1.Barcelona
2.Florida
3.Benidorm
4.San Francisco
5.Sydney
For more on the report, click here
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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