Researchers at Post Office Travel Money’s annual Family Holiday Report also found the Algarve is the prime choice for travellers on a strict budget in Eurozone destinations. The study’s Beach Barometer, produced for the first time in partnership with TUI, looked at the cost of 12 typical tourist items, including a family meal, drinks, suncream, insect repellent, lilos and ice-creams, and compiled a total “basket” price.
Sunny Beach in Bulgaria is the cheapest resort with a total of £85.63, though Marmaris, Turkey, is just 44p behind.
Despite local prices rising compared to pre-pandemic in both destinations, they are still least 20% lower than the Algarve (£108.47) and around half the price of the two most expensive destinations in the survey, with Puglia, Italy, weighing in at £185.81 and Ibiza the biggest wallet walloper at £186.47.
However, along with Majorca (£138.81, 3.3% down on 2019), Ibiza and Puglia were the only destinations to show price falls (-4.9% and -5.2%).
The biggest pre-Covid increase of 37.7% was in Crete (£161.86).
But there have also been double-digit percentage rises in the Algarve (11.9%), Costa del Sol (£127.33, 22.6%) and Porec, Croatia (£154.75, 10.5%).
Post Office Travel Money’s Nick Boden urged holidaymakers to ”do their homework and budget carefully to cover costs in the holiday resort they are visiting”.
TUI’s Richard Sofer added: “We’re seeing strong demand, especially for holidays in these more affordable destinations, with Turkey bookings up 60% versus 2019. The Algarve remains a firm family favourite, with bookings up a third on 2019, indicating that budget-conscious Brits still want to enjoy an overseas trip.”
The report also found that three in five (59%) families are planning trips abroad this year but three-quarters (76%) of them bust their budget by more than a third (38%) on their last holiday.
They spent £243 extra on the average budget of £644 they had set, with food and drink being the key reason.
More info: postoffice.co.uk/familyholidays