Holiday Savings

By Author: Bonny Kominek
Total Articles: 6
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The Post Office recently ran a survey and found out that 46% of people are actively trying to lower the cost of their holiday. This means that holiday companies are feeling the pinch as many people are waiting longer to book and spending less on the package.

Thanks to a relatively good summer and the constraints on people''s finances because of the recession, the UK holiday market has been one of the few winners this year. But despite many people touting the return of the British summer holiday, people still want their week in the sun, and preferably somewhere a little more exotic than Torquay.

Big-named airlines such as British Airways have reported massive losses this year as people are favouring low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet. Although even these budget airlines have had to think up new ways to make money such as greatly increased baggage and check in costs and closing down of routes and regional airport allegiances.

Cross-channel ferries and Eurotunnel have picked up some of the slack. You can take a whole family to France for the cost of one person''s flight, even before you add the ...
... baggage charges.

Until recently, self-catering accommodation was a less popular option among us Brits, with most people favouring all-inclusive hotel packages, but these days hotel rooms go empty, and self-catering accommodation is packed to the max. You get more value for money from the accommodation itself and spend less on food and booze ? it''s a win-win situation.

Travel insurance has also taken a bit of a beating too. Most people will never claim on their holiday insurance, but if something doe go wrong whilst away, the cost of treatment outstrips the cost of the insurance policy. This is particularly true in the US. But even in Europe people shouldn''t just rely on your European Health Insurance card, if someone needs to be airlifted to safety and they don''t have insurance they are the ones that have to pay.

Finally, the cost if something does go wrong will be significantly higher than the cost of the insurance. A European Health Insurance Card really isn''t enough and for those holiday makers lucky enough to be heading off further afield, to the US for example, travel insurance is essential.

When buying an insurance policy, it is usually better value for money to choose an annual family policy over an individual single-trip quote. The insurance has to suit the holiday too, so if people are backpacking or skiing for example, they need to make sure they get the right insurance to cover this. It''s not worth cutting corners on insurance when you can make savings in other areas of your holiday. At 1stoptravelinsurance.co.uk you can get cheap holiday insurance to cover your iPods, computer games and sun glasses.