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Three out of four UK adults believe travel companies “hold parents to ransom” on prices during school summer holidays and two-thirds believe the government should impose a price cap.
The figures come from exclusive TNS research for Travel Weekly. The results are published after a couple were given criminal records for taking their children to Australia during term time.
The parents, from Coventry, were handed conditional discharges at Nuneaton magistrates’ court, but ordered to pay £800 costs after being prosecuted by Coventry City Council.
The TNS research confirms industry fears that holiday firms risk being blamed by angry parents who cannot afford holidays at peak times.
The survey of more than 2,000 adults found an even higher proportion (85%) of those intending to go on holiday with children of school age agreed “travel companies hold parents to ransom with their high prices during school holidays”.
However, a similar proportion of all adults (80%) agreed peak summer prices were driven by high demand, and half agreed school terms should be staggered to reduce demand in peak summer. Less than a third (29%) agreed with the government policy of fining parents for taking children out of school.
The Department for Education removed head teachers’ discretion to approve holiday absences in September. Research by the BBC, published in March, suggested the number of parents fined for taking children on holiday in term time had risen by more than 70% following the move.
Courts can impose fines of up to £2,500 and up to three months in jail for parents who refuse to pay a penalty notice for removing children from school.
Coventry council prosecuted the couple in the latest case after they failed to pay a £240 penalty for taking their children away.
After the verdict, the mother said: “The magistrates gave the fairest verdict they could under the current laws, which are flawed.” A Coventry council spokesman said: “Our schools follow guidance set down by the Department for Education.”