Summer jaunts see majority of Brits break their holiday budget
- On average holidaymakers spend £116.25 over their holiday budget with men being the worst offenders.
- Men on average (£1,927.32) spend almost £300 more overall on their summer holidays than women (£1,647.44).
- While a third (33%) of travellers say they save up specifically for their summer holiday, almost one in five (19%) admits to dipping into their savings to pay for their summer holidays.
The survey showed that pre-vacation budgets are being ignored and holidaymakers are overspending by an average of £116.25 each. Men have admitted to being the worst offenders as they on average spend £136.27 over budget compared with the £96.79 women are overspending – a difference of £39.48.
The overspend average also is at its highest for holidaymakers aged 35-44. This age category said that on average they were overspending by £153.82 during their summer breaks. This figure was in stark comparison with travellers aged 65+ who, on average, were only overspending by £55.46 or £98.36 less.
| Age | Average overspend |
|---|---|
| 16-24 | £121.34 |
| 25-34 | £148.69 |
| 35-44 | £153.82 |
| 45-54 | £115.17 |
| 55-65 | £100.76 |
| 65 + | £55.46 |
Men also, on average, prove to be more willing to spend more overall on their summer holiday, when taking into account all expenditure, than women. The survey showed that overall men on average spend £1,927.32 on their summer holiday while women were thriftier spending just £1,647.44; a difference of almost £300. (£279.88)
However, after returning home almost a quarter (23%) of holidaymakers say they are alarmed at how much they’ve actually spent when they were away and perhaps something that’s more of a concern is that over one in ten holidaymakers (12%) return from holiday with no idea of how much they’ve actually spent while they’ve been away!
Despite the budget breaking stats, a third of those surveyed (33%) said that they do save up specifically for their summer holidays but almost a fifth (19%) said that they dip into their general savings pot to pay for their summer jaunts. Furthermore over a quarter (26%) of holidaymakers say that they use money from their current accounts while just over one in 10 (12%) say that they use their credit cards.
| How travellers pay for their summer holiday | % response |
|---|---|
| Save up specifically in advance | 33% |
| Use money from their current account | 26% |
| Dip into their general savings | 19% |
| Use their credit cards | 12% |
| Borrow from family or friends | 2% |
| Get a loan | 2% |
| Don't know | 7% |
Not deterred about how they are going to pay for their holiday, over one in four of those surveyed said that they start planning their next summer holiday almost immediately after returning from the last with 28% saying they start saving for their holiday seven to 12 months in advance. Women tend to start saving for their holidays further in advance with around one in three (32%) starting saving seven to 12 months in advance compared with only about one in four (24%) men doing the same thing.
Julian Hynd, Retail Director at NS&I, said:
“Many holidaymakers are following a healthy savings habit by saving money to cover their summer holiday costs, and are also already budgeting for next year’s break in advance by putting money away each month.
“For those holidaymakers who get away from it all with a summer break funded by day-to-day cash, a regular savings pot can help. So our advice is to budget well and save all year round.”
Notes to Editors
The Summer Holiday Lifestyle Survey was conducted by TNS among 2,424 British adults aged 16+ between 21 and 28 May 2015.