News

Cost of living ‘to impact almost half of people’s holiday plans’

Almost half of consumers believe the rising cost of living will have some impact on their holiday plans.

The 42% figure came from a poll of 2,000 people conducted by the Post Office in October.

The compares with research a month earlier which found that 59% of those considering an overseas holiday said their plans were likely to be impacted by the volatility of sterling.  

Amongst these people, a quarter said they would pick a cheaper destination and a third would cut their spending budget.   

The total sample size was 2,081 UK adults and 1,283 of those said they were considering a holiday abroad, of which 754 admitted their holiday plans were likely to be affected by volatility of the  pound. 

The results were disclosed as Post Office Travel Money found the Latvian capital of Riga to be the best value for money for a European pre-Christmas shopping trip.

The city topped a Post Office barometer comparison of costs across 12 cities against pre-Covid 2019 ahead of traditional Christmas markets opening within the next two weeks.

The total of £507 for two people to Riga was calculated by combining the costs of return flights, two nights’ three-star accommodation, airport transfers, two evening meals with wine, coffee, festive drinks and snacks at a Christmas market.  

Riga’s ranking was due largely to the low cost of accommodation and cheap flights because the city was ranked only sixth cheapest for meals and drinks.  

Budapest (£745) was cheapest for these items, but the higher cost of flights and accommodation meant that the Hungarian capital could only make eighth place in the list. 

Vienna was priciest of the 12 cities at £921, up 18.6% on 2019 levels. It was also around 19% more expensive than the new entry of Salzburg (£775), which came ninth in the survey.

Lille was again best value among the cities surveyed in western Europe at £725, despite a 26% rise in costs. The French city is also the closest to the UK with an 82-minute train journey from London.

Second place to Riga for value was Croatian capital of Zagreb,  with a total of £541, followed by Krakow (£649) in Poland.

The cost of a two-night break in all three cities was found to have risen by less than 5% since 2019 – by 2.2% in Riga, 3.5% in Zagreb and 4.9% in Krakow.

However, prices increased by at least 18% in the other cities surveyed. Costs in fourth-placed Tallinn (£684) rose by 29%, while they were up by over a third (34.4%) in Copenhagen, where the overall cost of £881 made it the second most expensive city surveyed.    

The weaker sterling exchange rate made eurozone countries pricier than in 2019 while its comparative strength against Croatian, Hungarian, Polish and Swedish currencies make their cities cheaper, according to the study.

Head of Post Office Travel Money, Nick Boden said: “Our research reflects the concern that people have about living costs but also shows that their solution is more likely to be cost cutting rather than jettisoning holiday plans.

“Short breaks are a practical way to holiday abroad for a lower cost and at this time of year Christmas Markets are a real attraction. 

“Although prices have risen across the board since we last conducted the survey, the scale of those increases varies significantly from city to city.  

“This means budget-conscious Britons who do their holiday homework can potentially save hundreds of pounds by picking a city like Riga where costs are low.”

Share article

View Comments

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.