American families looking for all-inclusive vacations to traditional family-friendly destinations are paying through the nose! In particular, prices have exploded in Spain, Cyprus, and Turkey. Data gathered by TravelSupermarket between April 18 – June 17, 2023, shows that this is a significant trend on the rise. Further, families who booked trips departing in August 2024 and 2025 are modifying their holiday itineraries to accommodate the economic hardship.
Luke Fitzpatrick, a travel planner at Perfect Getaways in Liverpool, said that most of his clients are now choosing shorter trips. He observed, “Last year we did a lot for 10 nights and this year we’ve got a lot of people dropping to four or seven nights, just a short little weekend vacation, just getting away in the sun.” This trend is just part of a larger penology swaying holidaymakers seeking to stave off the ill effects of growing expenses.
Out these hikes the inflation rates have had some of the highest price hikes on all-inclusive family package holidays. The same goes for Spain where the average cost for a week leapt from £835 to £914. By comparison, Greece saw an increase of £926 to £1,038. Turkey’s prices jumped from £874 to £1,003. Among UK expat hotspots, the UAE saw the biggest increase at 26%, with average prices jumping from £1,210 to £1,525. Cyprus had the biggest increase in prices, up 23% to £1,166. At the same time, Portugal’s prices increased by £936 to £972.
While the fare increases hit every destination hard, Italy and Tunisia were especially conspicuous. Both of them benefitted from price decreases of 11% and 4%. These differences underscore the challenging realities of today’s travel market as households make difficult decisions about how to spend their holiday dollars.
Fitzpatrick said that some travelers are being resourceful in their trip planning. He said the impact was such that holidaymakers were now booking mid-week flights or choosing shorter trips to save money. “People are coming in with their suitcases asking if they can go away today or tomorrow,” he said, indicating a shift towards spontaneous travel.
The rising operational costs that have hit all sectors of the travel industry are leading to increased prices. Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, stated, “These increases simply keep pace with the broader cost of doing business and reflect the reality of higher operational costs, from increased energy bills affecting hotels to elevated food costs impacting restaurants and rising wages across the hospitality sector.”
As families enter this new world of traveling differently, we’ve been hearing from those who have taken the plunge. Ellie Mooney, a long-time traveler, remarked on her past planning habits: “We’ve been going for the past 20 years or so. We normally book a year ahead then save up in dribs and drabs.” Meanwhile, Hope Curran described her own approach to booking holidays: “The longest I’ve booked a holiday in advance is two to three months and I find that the closer you get, the cheaper it is.”
