A new study conducted by an online independent cruising travel agency has revealed that the average Briton spends £1,024 on holidays in the average year; collectively spending £40 billion on holidays in the average year as a nation.

With many Britons already venturing off to their summer holiday destinations, an independent online cruising travel agency has conducted a survey to delve deeper into Britons’ budgets when it comes to holidays;  taking a closer look into how much Britons collectively spend on holidays in the average year.
The study, conducted by www.BonVoyage.co.uk, polled 1,367 Britons aged 18 over from across the UK as part of research into holiday budgets and spending. Respondents were asked questions relating to their holiday spend over the past 12 months.

The study initially asked respondents, ‘Have you been on holiday in the past year, either in the UK or abroad?’ to which the vast majority, 62%, of respondents said ‘yes’.

These respondents were then asked to estimate how much they had spent on their holidays in the past 12 months per person (taking into account all holidays, accommodation costs, travel and food expenses etc). After taking all the answers from respondents into account, the results showed that Britons spend an average of £1,024 per person on holidays in an average year.

Using official figures released by the Office of National Statistics, the UK has a population of 63.2 million people. Based on this figure and taking this further, with 62% of Britons venturing on holiday last year and claiming to spend an average of £1,024 per person on holidays, Britons collectively spend an average of £40,124,416,000 on holidays in the average year.

Respondents were then asked to specify which aspect (s) of their holidays usually cost them the most. According to the results of the study, ‘transport’ appeared at the top of the chart as the most expensive holiday cost, with 38% of the vote. 34% of respondents also stated that they spent the majority of their money on ‘food and drinks’. Just a fifth, 21%, stated that their ‘hotel/ accommodation’ was usually one of the largest costs, whilst 17% pinned ‘souvenirs/ gifts’ for friends and family as a major holiday expense.

Furthermore, respondents were asked if they felt that they spent too much on holidays, to which the majority, 55%, said ‘no’. When asked why, over a third of the respondents, 34%, explained that they saved money specifically for holidays and so could afford the spend; whilst the majority, 44%, claimed that holidays were what they ‘look forward to the most’ every year.

Steph Curtin, Cruise Development Manager of BonVoyage.co.uk, spoke about the findings:
“To see what we Britons spend collectively on holidays each year is a whopping amount of money- but it appears we’re a nation of holiday lovers! Despite the current hot spell, we’re usually cursed with bad weather that most would rather escape from to sunnier climbs; and is the highlight of many people’s years. I personally agree with people who don’t want to reduce their holiday budgets. Holidays are quite often one of the only times of the year that you can make the most of your hard work and fully enjoy your money by spending it on what you love. Obviously there is nothing wrong with trying to get a discount for your hotel or flights or bagging a late deal bargain, but if making the most of your holidays means spending a bit more than you usually would then I say go for it. After all, we only live once!”