With February half term only a couple of weeks away, many parents across the UK will be starting to think about booking a family holiday – either at home or away. But considering Britain is still in the full throes of winter, many families are rightly thinking of ditching rain and chilly temperatures for some much-needed sunshine. After all, amusing kids on a beach somewhere warm and balmy is infinitely easier than dragging the whole family down to the British seaside when it’s wet, windy and temperatures are still hovering around the 5°C mark.
Popular holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, which are warm and sunny all-year round, and Turkey, which is definitely more appealing than the UK right now, are all big hits with British families in search of some fun in the sun. Moreover, as we benefit from being only a short flight away from numerous holiday locations enjoying better weather than us right now, you’d think it’d just be a case of checking the weather forecasts, booking flights and and packing your bags…
But unfortunately most parents get a nasty shock when they clock the cost of booking a holiday during school holidays – quite simply that sunny break away can become a pipe dream. The huge hike up in prices has reached a point whereby many parents either forgo going anywhere at all, or they choose to break school rules and take the subsequent fines on the chin – not to mention disapproving looks from the school head.
Settling for a holiday in the UK won’t necessarily help in terms of cost either, with many holiday parks and various holiday accommodation across Britain hiking up their prices during school holidays. Center Parcs said its prices were based on “supply and demand”.
Facing fines
Tour operator, Letsgo2 reports a 500 per cent increase in term time bookings despite parents facing fines for taking their children out of school.
The operator has seen a significant increase in term time bookings for family holidays over the last two years as families struggle to afford the higher costs charged during key school holiday periods.
Simon Norton, marketing manager at Letsgo2, comments ‘We are increasingly seeing parents taking the decision to book a family holiday during term time because they can pay up to 25 per less than during the holidays. The savings can significantly outweigh the fines imposed by schools.
Recent news stories show families being fined £360 by local councils for knowingly removing their children from school. However this is more than covered by the savings they can make. For example this year we can offer a saving of over £1,000 for a family taking a holiday to Barbados in September when compared to the October half term holiday.’
For families that don’t want to break the rules, Letsgo2 has a special section on its website highlighting the best offers available during the school holidays, click here for details.
Going viral
Unsurprisingly, this issue has hit the headlines of late with parents across the UK facing yet another holiday conundrum. One parent who’s “sick to death” of being “ripped off” by companies that put up holiday prices outside school term time posted a “rant” about it on Facebook. With around 250 friends on Facebook, Paul Cookson didn’t expect his post to have much impact.
However, his post ended up going viral after a few like-minded sharing it on their Facebook pages – and it picked up pace from there. To date, more than 143,000 people have shared it so far. An online petition calling for government action has also garnered more than the 100,000 signatures needed for a possible debate in Parliament.
On the defensive
Defending the new rules, which see parents fined for taking their children out of school during term time, the Department for Education (DfE) said children who missed school lost out on “valuable learning time”.
While The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) stated that prices were “an issue of supply and demand”. Adding that a “potential solution” would be “staggering” holiday dates, rather than having most schools off at the same time.
The DfE pointed out that free schools and academies already had the ability to set term dates, and council-run schools are set to be able to do the same from 2015. However, commenting on the situation last year, the National Union of Teachers warned that letting schools set different term dates would create “chaos” for families booking holidays and would allow holiday companies to extend their premium rate periods
It seems the situation and ensuing debate will rumble on for now…
