Advantage Travel Partnership, which represents more than 4,000 travel agents, has called for a radical overhaul of the school holiday system so families with kids in state schools are no longer ripped off
UK travel agents are demanding a big change to school holidays that could save families hundreds of pounds.
Advantage Travel Partnership, which represents more than 4,000 travel agents, has called for a radical overhaul of the school holiday system so families with kids in state schools are no longer ripped off.
Right now, there is a huge premium on breaks taken in the second half of July and in August, when almost all of the UK’s school children are on their summer holidays.
British families face forking out £388 more per person if they don’t break school rules and head away during term times. One recent study found that a family of four will pay an additional £716 on average if they travel during a school half-term or holidays across the year, compared to travelling in term time. It also finds that this number rises even further during the six-week summer break, when travel costs increase the most.
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The spiked costs are so high that some families would rather pay fines for taking their kids out of school during term time. The Department for Education says a fine must be considered if a pupil misses five days of school in an unauthorised absence, with £60-a-day fines rising to £120 if they are not paid within 21 days.
Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said is calling on the Department of Education to change the school holiday calendar, so families can choose to go away at different times – spreading out demand and, hopefully, reducing prices.
“Many British families face an impossible choice: pay premium prices for crowded, uncomfortably hot destinations during the rigid six-week summer break or remove children from school during term time and face potential rising fines. However, as climate patterns shift and family travel needs evolve, is now the time to consider a pragmatic solution?” she asks.
The solution may be to make summer holidays shorter and to add an extra week to May half-term, or for half-term to be staggered across the country, as it is in countries such as Sweden.
The current system is particularly unfair to families whose children go to state schools, as private schools tend to have longer holidays, meaning they can benefit from cheaper breaks in June and early July.
“It is an issue with fairness. What I’m calling for is a grown-up conversation,” Julia told the Mirror.
“Is there an opportunity to look at this from a point of view that means more families are able to get away? The travel industry is really good at coming up with affordable options for travel. We want to get around the table with those in power to talk it out.”
Julia argued that now is the time for this debate to be had on a national stage, given the rise in travel during the shoulder seasons of May and September and the fact that higher summer temperatures in southern European countries have made classic Mediterranean breaks less attractive during the school holidays.