British holidaymakers are being warned that the cost of going away on holiday in summer 2012 could rise sharply as the travel industry continues to struggle.
An announcement from TUI Travel, who own the large Thompson and First Choice package holiday companies, states that a rise in the cost of transport will be passed on to their customers next year. This is likely to mean that prices increase by approximately 10%.
Winter package holidays have also suffered this year with a 7% drop in bookings. TUI Travel are already reducing availability for some package holidays in response.
Shares in TUI have dropped around one third this year, while shares in its competitor, Thomas Cook, have slumped by a huge 80% in the same period of time.
Industry experts suggest that the current debt problems within the eurozone could be having an impact on the type of holidays people take, both in terms of their disposable income and the destinations they choose to go to. Due to political unrest in some Arab countries, package holidays to destinations such as Tunisia have become less popular. British people are also choosing to holiday less as disposable income drops to its lowest level since 1921, according to figures from the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
The price of going on holiday in the UK is also likely to be even more greatly affected in 2012 due to the influx of visitors for the Olympic Games in London. The website Travelsupermarket.com predicts that the price of a hotel room will double in the capital while the games are taking place, escalating prices into several hundred pounds per night. The Financial Times reported that one hotel normally charging £200 per night would be charging £1,100, and many others would be charging 100% cancellation fees.
40,000 hotel rooms have already been booked for the athletes and staff at the 2012 Games