As travel returns to normal, I have noticed the ever present issue of the difference between term and school holiday prices once more getting coverage in the media. What is ABTA’s view on this matter and can you help counter this negative coverage which often focuses on blaming the travel industry?

You are quite right, stories featuring price increases in school holidays can be commonplace in the media especially in the run up to the peak summer months and are likely to run once more as many families will be heading off for their first post-pandemic overseas break. 

Firstly, it is true that prices rise in school holidays, but as they in the industry know this is a simple matter of supply and demand, not helped by the fact that school holidays in the UK generally fall at times of year when demand is already high; Christmas and New Year, Easter and the peak summer months. 

Another factor affecting prices at these times is that its’s not just you who want to travel at these times, they’re peak periods for many other nationalities too. 

Over the years ABTA has come to the fore to defend the industry, explain the economics behind price differentials and suggest a potential solution. They have done this in two ways, in their comms with the media and in the lobbying work.

In terms of the comms, over the years ABTA has conducted hundreds of TV and radio interviews, often in fairly hostile conditions, as well as providing countless media statements in response to stories about this issue. In addition to explaining the economic realities, they stress practical solutions for families such as booking early and the help given by tour operators in the form of discounted child fares and free child places. ABTA has also proposed a longer term solution to this problem which they have set out both in the dealings with decision makers and the media. 

This proposal would fundamentally address the bottle necks created by the majority of schools all taking their holidays at the same time - staggering the dates of school holidays by region. This is a remarkably simple and effective solution that already works well in Germany.