Scots are big spenders on holiday - splashing more cash than other UK tourists

- Post Office® Scottish Family Holiday Report 2013 finds that Scots spend 27 per cent more while on holiday than other UK tourists
- Budget-watchers will find cheapest prices in Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach for the third year running

As Scottish schools prepare to break up for the summer, research for the third annual Post Office Scottish Family Holiday Report has found that Scots overspend by splashing the cash on holiday, paying out 27 per cent more than other UK tourists¹.

The Post Office Travel Money research found that Scottish holidaymakers spent an average of £707.92 - 20 per cent more than planned (£588.89). By comparison, the UK average spend was £557.49, only six per cent more than budgeted (£525.53). The biggest drains on the holiday purse were meals, sightseeing and drinks but Scots also spent 58.2 per cent more on visits to water parks than the UK average at a cost of £49.76. They also splashed out much more on souvenirs (£63.45, 41.9 per cent more than the average UK spend).

However, this year’s Scottish Family Holiday Report provides good news for Scottish families because the latest Post Office barometer has found that prices for meals, drinks, beach items and days out are down in several of the eight popular resorts it surveyed. Sunny Beach in Bulgaria and Spain’s Costa del Sol are tipped as the best value².

In addition to Sunny Beach and the Costa del Sol, the Post Office also surveyed resort prices for families travelling abroad to Majorca, Spain; the Algarve, Portugal; Corfu and Crete, Greece; Sorrento, Italy and Marmaris, Turkey. Prices in Bournemouth were also researched in order to show how the UK compares with Europe.

At £405.98 for a week’s worth of meals and drinks plus beach items and a day out at a water park, Sunny Beach emerged as cheapest for the third consecutive year and, with a price fall of 7.6 per cent, was one of five resorts to show a year-on-year reduction. In second and third places, the Costa del Sol (£429.50) and Majorca (£434.66) registered even bigger falls – 13.9 per cent and 17.8 per cent respectively. Prices in the Algarve were also down 9.8 per cent taking the Portuguese favourite to fourth place in the barometer table.

Despite showing the biggest price fall since last summer of 21.4 per cent, resort costs in Crete (£558.04) were 37.5 per cent more expensive than Sunny Beach and almost ten per cent higher than its sister Greek island, Corfu (£509.22). Sorrento, Italy was again the highest-priced resort surveyed. At £943.70 for the family resort costs, Sorrento was over twice the price of Sunny Beach, the Costa del Sol, Majorca and the Algarve.

Scottish Family Holiday Report Price Comparisons At A Glance:

Drinks and ice creams cost least in the Algarve. Two Coca-Colas and two ice creams a day on a one week holiday add up to £34.07. The same number of drinks and ice creams costs £54.14 in Majorca and £60.83 in Corfu. Bought individually, a Coca-Cola in Corfu costs £2.61, three times as much as in the Algarve (87p)

A family of four can pick up two lilos – one per child – for just £5.20 in the Algarve but pay three times as much in Majorca (£15.64) or Sorrento (£17.38)

Sunny Beach offers the best bargains for a bucket and spade. Two of these will cost £4.64 – around half the price in Bournemouth (£9.10). The Bulgarian resort is also a best buy for aqua shoes (£4.64 for two pairs) but these will cost over three times as much in Sorrento (£13.90), Marmaris (£14.56) and Bournemouth (£15.00)

Parents who forget to pack beach towels can pick up two for the kids in Corfu for under £9 (£8.69) but pay more than double in the Costa del Sol (£20.86), or Majorca (£20.77)

The Costa del Sol has the cheapest swimming goggles and snorkelling gear (£14.32 for two children) but they cost over twice that in Sorrento (£34.76) or Marmaris (£36.41)

Taking an hour’s pedalo ride twice during the holiday will set families back £34.76 in the Algarve but cost much less in Sunny Beach (£13.91)

Families will find Majorca a pricey place for a day out at a water park (£77.34). Marmaris (£46.60) and Bournemouth (£45.40) were cheapest in the survey.

Families who plan to eat out on holiday can keep their costs down by choosing a destination where meals are cheap. Majorca was found to be lowest-priced for family meals at just £29.54 for a three-course meal including drinks – adding up to £206.81 over a one week holiday. By contrast, a week’s meals in Bournemouth could set families back over two-and-a-half times as much (£535.85), while the bill in Sorrento was three times higher (£729.93) than in Majorca (£206.81) or the Costa del Sol (£243.31).

Andrew Brown of post office Travel Money said: “Scottish holidaymakers emerged as some of the biggest spenders in our research for this year’s Family Holiday Report. With the continuing volatility of sterling, it will therefore make good sense for them to plan the holiday budget carefully before leaving home and consider the wide variations in European resort costs. Those who have still to book should compare resort prices in our barometer before choosing their destination as these can have a big impact on the overall budget.

“The good news for Scottish families is that prices are down in many resorts – particularly for meals – but remember that pester power can soon empty the family purse so we recommend that holidaymakers set a budget and stick to it. Pack last year’s lilo, snorkelling gear, towels and aqua shoes in the suitcase rather than waiting to buy them in resort and that could fund some pedalo rides or even a day out at a water park.”

Although Sunny Beach was the cheapest resort in the Post Office report, families who have yet to book their holiday may find late availability packages to Bulgaria more expensive than any other European destinations surveyed, except Italy. A one-week Sunny Beach package for a family of four in early July costs £1,556 compared with £1,002 in the Costa del Sol and £1,112 in Corfu3. When the package price was added to the resort costs, this meant that Sunny Beach dropped to sixth place in the Post Office chart (£1,961.98) and the Costa del Sol moved to the best value spot (£1,431.50), followed by Corfu (£1,621.22).

Scottish holidaymakers can obtain euros on demand in 687 Post Office bureaux de change branches, while over 300 larger branches stock Bulgarian lev as one of the 25 most popular currencies. In addition, over 70 currencies can be pre-ordered at more than 1,400 Post Office branches in Scotland or online at postoffice.co.uk for next day branch or home delivery. Post Office Travel Money also offers a pre-paid euro Travel Money Card. This chip and PIN-enabled Mastercard® is a secure and convenient way to carry holiday money.

1 Source: Omnibus research conducted for Post Office Travel Money (May/June 2013) comparing the behaviour of Scottish family holidaymakers with those from the UK as a whole, finding that they spent 27 per cent more. The research found that Scottish holidaymakers budgeted £588.89 but actually spent £707.92 on holiday while for the UK as a whole,tourists budgeted £525.53 but spent £557.49.

2 Prices for the Scottish Family Holiday Report were provided by national and regional tourist boards, except Bulgaria (provided by Balkan Holidays) and the UK (researched independently). All pricing data relates to exchange rate on 17 June 2013.

3 Total cost of living plus cheapest seven-night family holiday available on travelsupermarket.com (13 June 2012), departing from airports in Scotland between 4-9 July (except Italy, departing 19 July). Package prices include return flights and three-star accommodation for two adults and two children.

Contact - Gabrielle O'Gara