A majority of UK households with children expect to be worse off following this week’s Budget and two-thirds will spend less on holidays or not go away at all, according to research for Travel Weekly.
The survey found 77% of respondents with dependent children were worse off this year than last, and 68% expected the Budget to leave them with less money.
More than one in three parents (35%) expected to spend less on holidays this year, 18% the same and 15% more. A further 30% did not expect to take an overseas break.
A majority of those aged 35-54 – the biggest spenders on foreign travel – said they had less to spend than last year (71%) and 65% expected to be worse off after the Budget. More than one in three (34%) anticipated spending less on overseas holidays.
The survey of 500 adults, conducted last weekend by Explore Reseach, found 60% had less to spend and 53% expected to be worse off after the Budget. Families with children are among the most likely to take a foreign holiday, but also more likely to cut holiday spending.
Those aged 18-34 were more optimistic: 26% said they were better off this year, compared with 9% of 35 to 54-year-olds, and 28% expected to spend more on travel. The young were the only group in which a higher proportion expected to spend more on holidays than spend less, and the rate not expecting to go abroad this year (16%) was less than half the rate in other age groups.
Katie Bryan-Brown, head of Explore Research, said: “The general feeling is consumers have less money and expect to spend less on holidays. The under-35s seem more buoyant. The majority of over-35s think they will be worse off and families expect to be worst hit.”