With the summer holidays about to start, those of us with children know how expensive going on holiday can be as companies up prices at the busiest time of year. But a new study has revealed that holidaying with kids is even more expensive than most people think – according to the poll, parents spend an average £201.32 per holiday on keeping their children entertained, while more than a third admit the extra cost was not something they budget for.
The study by www.BonVoyage.co.uk, polled 1,257 British holidaymakers with at least one child aged five or over; all of whom had been on holiday abroad as a family at least once in the last 18 months. The study aimed to look more into the spending habits of parents while on holiday, particularly when it came to spending dedicated to their children.
The respondents were asked: ‘Do you ever spend money when on holiday abroad purely on items/ activities to keep you child (children) entertained?’ to which the vast majority, 64 per cent, said ‘yes’.
These respondents were then asked to specify what they had spent money on to keep their children entertained on their last trip with the five top items being:
1. Excursions – 44 per cent
2. Beach Games (ball, rackets, etc.) – 39 per cent
3. Theme Parks/ Water Parks– 27 per cent
4. Group Activities – 21 per cent
5. Shows/ Exhibitions – 17 per cent
Steph Curtin of BonVoyage.co.uk said: “Taking the kids on holiday can be costly, particularly when you factor in how much it can cost to keep them happy- which as this study shows isn’t cheap! Over £200 on activities or items is a serious amount of money on top of the cost of a holiday, and to see that one in three parents don’t budget for the extra cost is worrying.”
