Rising cost of package holidays to Majorca, Crete and Tenerife

British tourists are paying up to a quarter more for all-inclusive package holidays to Mediterranean hotspots this summer compared with last year.

The average cost of a week-long family full-board trip to Crete in Greece has gone up by 25 per cent, while Majorca in Spain is up 21 per cent and Tenerife 22 per cent.

Experts also revealed a 12 per cent overall average rise in the cost of holidays to the five most popular countries of Spain, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus.

But there is also a wide variation between the destinations – with Spain rising 15 per cent but Portugal only up 5 per cent, according to the TravelSupermarket data.

And the average price across the five countries is now up more than 30 per cent compared with pre-pandemic levels – far above the general inflation rate since 2019.

The rising cost of summer holidays signals yet more pain for cash-strapped Britons hit by soaring inflation amid rising energy costs, mortgage rates and food shopping. 

TravelSupermarket boss Richard Singer said those hoping for a last-minute bargain may not have success this year because demand is still outstripping supply.

He also told BBC News: ‘It is unlikely that prices will fall substantially for this summer. Prices for next year are looking on a par with this year.’

The average holiday in Spain for August 2023 is now £926 per person, which is a £118 rise compared with £808 last August; while the figure in Turkey has risen by £89 from £902 to £991.

In Greece, the average cost of a holiday per person is up £124 from £974 to £1,098; while in Portugal it has risen by £51 from £949 to £1,000. In Cyprus, the figure is up £93 from £1,060 to £1,153.

Travelsupermarket also analysed data from five other countries further afield, with holidays to Mexico now up £126 per person from £1,656 to £1,782; and Egypt up £100 from £1,135 to £1,235.

Bulgaria remains the cheapest option out of ten countries analysed, but it has also risen, by £96 from £746 to £842.

Meanwhile the United Arab Emirates has gone up the most in monetary terms on the list of ten, by £260 from £1,426 to £1,686. And Morocco has also seen a sharp rise, of £204 from £755 to £959.

The average cost per person of a week-long family trip to Crete has gone up by 25 per cent

Family holidays to Majorca in Spain this summer have gone up by 21 per cent in just one year

Trips to Tenerife in the Canary Islands have risen by 22 per cent in a year, the data revealed

TravelSupermarket calculated the average figures using search results for holidays in each destination, with exact costs varying based on location and booking time.

Travel expert NICKY KELVIN provides his top budget travel tips for MailOnline readers

NICKY KELVIN

Holidaymakers shouldn’t have to compromise on their summer holiday this year. It’s been a tumultuous couple of years already, and now travel is looking up – except for the ongoing airport strikes – it’s important to have things to look forward to.

However, budget will continue to be front of mind – so for those wanting to cut costs where they can, here are a few tips which might help:

UK HOLIDAYS

• Sign up to deals websites and keep an eye out for offers (Groupon, Hot Deals UK etc)
• If you live or are staying in London, you can save on Theatre Tickets with TodayTix
• Take a free walking tour – there are so many of these around London
• If you’re taking public transport, book in advance, as often tickets are much cheaper. It might also be worth looking into railcards – if you’re getting multiple trains then you can save a huge amounts with the discounts
• Be flexible. Often lesser known towns and stations are cheaper to get to and you may find tickets cheaper by splitting tickets. Sites such as the Trainline may offer automatic split ticketing to keep prices low.

ABROAD

• Check credit card merchant offers ie. Amex; as they often have holiday or flight deals you can use to your advantage with large discounts on purchases.
• Book package holidays, as bundles can offer savings up to 40 per cent off.
• Use a price monitoring tool as these will check other websites, and make sure you’re getting the best deal possible for what you’re looking for. For flights, Google Flights offers a simple price alert option.
• Reprice flights and hotels, especially if you can cancel without penalties up to your stay. Holiday companies charge different prices to different people, so if they drop the price of your holiday up to the lead of travel time, then you need to make the most of this opportunity.
• Hold your deal – if you’re still considering or shopping around, just make sure to hold the deal where possible so you have time to make a decision. Sometimes you are able to do this for a small fee.
• Be flexible on destinations. Do you want to travel somewhere specific, or just looking for a bit of sunshine? Using tools such as the British Airways Holiday Finder helps you find the best deals if you are flexible on when and where you are willing to go.
• Consider alternative airports – however keep in mind the additional costs which might be added to get to an airport further away. This in turn might make the overall travel costs for the holiday higher
• If you are travelling abroad, use membership codes to save on car rentals
• Use points and miles where appropriate to drive down the price of both flights and hotels.
• When you’re on holiday, or if you’re staying in the UK, then take advantage of visiting free national parks

NICKY KELVIN is editor at The Points Guy. For more of his tips, click here

The price comparison website also found that the average rate per night of airport car parking in Britain rose by nearly 10 per cent this year, from £13 in May 2022 to more than £14 now.

There has also been a 10 per cent average rise in the cost of travel insurance.

Travel expert Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said consumer demand for this summer is at its highest level since 2019, with bookings at some firms up around 40 per cent compared with that pre-pandemic year.

He told MailOnline today: ‘Consumers have been saving hard for their summer trips, so you can guarantee that your flight, ferry or Eurostar will be full in July and August. There will be no empty seats.’

But Mr Charles also said he did not expect demand to continue at the same pace after the summer, with higher mortgage rates and general prices leading to consumers cutting back.

He continued: ‘I’d expect a September to December period which sees lower demand. However, we know that price is key and we will see airlines and travel companies offering really good pricing in the mass market to ensure they continue to tempt passengers.

‘At the higher, luxury end of the market the boom will continue. Despite a slowdown in the tech and banking sectors, there is still plenty of money ready to be funnelled by consumers into travel.

‘The premium cabins on airlines will continue to be full on most routes, even if seat prices reduce a bit to entice people, or airlines open up more airmiles availability.

‘Travel is back in the blood, the mindset of consumers has changed since the pandemic to one of wanting to get away on a regular basis. Consumers won’t be giving up their travel.’

Meanwhile new research from Trivago found 28 per cent of Britons view holidays as an essential as opposed to a luxury, with 56 per cent planning to dip into their savings this year to go on a trip.

The hotel price comparison website added that the top five holiday destinations for UK travellers this year are Dubai, New York, Benidorm, Albufeira and Istanbul. 

Also in the top ten are Antalya, Orlando, Las Vegas, Marrakesh and Costa Adeje in Spain.

Johannes Thomas, chief executive of Trivago, said today: ‘Holidays are very important to UK consumers, and they are unwilling to let the current economic situation get in the way of a much-needed getaway.’

It comes after the Daily Mail urged holidaymakers jetting off abroad this summer to reserve their airport car park space imminently, because booking ahead can save hundreds of pounds.

Airports such as Heathrow charge as much as £83 a day for those just turning up at an official short or long-term airport car park before a flight, meaning a week’s parking in short-stay costs about £580.

But for those booking a month ahead, seven days in an official Heathrow short-stay car park can cost almost a third of this amount, at £198.

Further savings can be found by pre-booking at airport’s official long-stay car park, but even bigger value can be found from a third-party parking service near the airport.

Booking a one-week stay from July 3 at Heathrow, for example, could cost £56 with a Purple Parking park and ride, or either £119 or £106 with Maple Parking and MBW Parking meet-and-greet services respectively.

In Britain, overall inflation is still running at 8.7 per cent, with the Bank of England last week lifting interest rates to 5 per cent to try to tame rising prices. 

But in Spain today, it was revealed that the country’s headline annual inflation rate has dropped to 1.9 per cent – the slowest increase since March 2021 and below the European Central Bank’s 2 per cent target for the first time in more than two years.