Parents who send their children to private schools, which break up earlier than state schools, should pay more because “they can afford it,” according to Tui Travel chief executive Peter Long.
Long told the Financial Times he had discussed the issue with the education department and proposed that counties stagger school breaks to enable holiday costs at peak periods to come down.
He said the price difference between a holiday booked at the beginning of July and one for the start of August was 20%.
“There is an irony in that for the 93% of children in state schools, the holiday starts at the end of July. For the 7% of children that go to private schools, the holiday starts at the beginning of July,” Long said.
“Those that can afford to pay more for their holiday don’t have to pay more for their holiday because they can go in the first two weeks of July.”
If school breaks were staggered, those families who benefit from being able to go away in the first two weeks of July would see their prices go up, he added.
“They might moan but, arguably you could say they can afford it,” said Long.
The Tui chief said he raised the issue with the education department because he is president of the Family Holiday Association, which provides holidays for impoverished families.
Education secretary Michael Gove last month accused travel companies of attempting “to fleece parents” by ramping up holiday prices at certain times of the year.
But seeking “to dispel some of the myths”, Long said Tui Travel does not “suddenly put all the prices up” when schools break up.
“It’s because our costs go up as well, because we’re having to pay more for our hotel rooms in periods of high demand, which is economics,” he said.
Asked about the cost of a two-week all-inclusive holiday in high summer, Long said: “It’s great value and it’s not expensive. But it’s more expensive than a holiday in a period of lower demand.”
Mr Gove is proposing legislation to allow all schools to change term dates.
But Long said the best approach was to replicate the German model and stagger school breaks by county to “flatten the peak”.
The impact on Tui Travel would be neutral, he added.
“It’s effectively saying we’ll get a higher price at the beginning of July and therefore we can have a lower price in August,” said Long.