Travellers could spend as much as £2.4 billion on additional holiday costs this summer, a new study reveals.
Almost half (49%) of people spend an average of £100 per holiday on extras such as airport transfers, shopping and insurance, increasing the cost of an average break by 10%. More than a third (38%) of holidaymakers spend up to £100 on airport transfers alone.
The findings suggest that the bill for extras is being fuelled by a lack of planning for holiday expenses such as airport transfers, as it reveals that 46% will call their preferred local taxi firm directly to arrange airport transfers rather than shopping around for the most competitively priced offer.
However, consumers are accustomed to researching and booking fights and accommodation in advance using comparison services such as Skyscanner for the best deal to keep their holiday costs down.
The YouGov survey for mini-cab price comparison service minicabit asked respondents how much they personally spent, on average, on all holiday extras excluding budgeted holiday cost such as flights, accommodation and meals.
The research found that:
- Almost a third of holidaymakers (37%) spend up to £200 in extra costs per holiday
- Scots were almost a third (50%) more likely to spend up to £200 on extra costs per holiday, compared to the Welsh (30%) and Londoners (33%) which were closer to the national average of 37%
- Londoners are the biggest spenders with a fifth (20%) spending between £200 and £400 in additional holiday costs, twice that of Scots (10%) and more than the Welsh (15%)
- Travel insurance and last minute airport purchases most frequently drive up total extra holiday costs, with 52% and 49% paying up to £100 for each of these categories respectively, closely followed by airport transfers on which 38% spent up to £100
- For more than a fifth (22%), travelling to and from the airport is a stressful aspect of their holiday with women reportedly finding it more stressful (23%) than men (20%) and those with children (22%) experiencing just as much stress from the experience as those without (22%)
- The unexpected, unbudgeted or unreliable cost of airport transfers contributes significantly to stress levels. Over a fifth (21%) of respondents report that paying a fixed cost for the journey would relieve some holiday stress and an additional 13% believe that securing the cheapest fare up front would help calm their nerves
The survey also revealed that in addition to transparent up-front pricing, the ability to book a taxi in advance for peace-of-mind that the driver will be at the right place at the requested time was considered key for taking the stress out of holiday transfers for nearly half (46%) of consumers.
Amer Hasan, chief executive of minicabit, said: “People often spend time researching flights and accommodation rather than extras and holiday goers want to spend money enjoying their holiday experiences rather than on expensive extras.
“However, extra holiday costs can really add up, especially in the aftermath of the EU referendum with sterling sliding to its lowest level in years, in some instances even exceeding flight costs.”