Parents suffer holiday mark-up

By JONATHAN PRYNN FOR MAILONLINE
Updated: 07:56 EST, 21 June 2005

FAMILIES still face huge mark-ups on holiday prices when schools break up for the summer, a new survey says.

Brochure prices rise by as much as 90% in August, despite government pressure on the industry to stop this.

Biggest premiums were on the French Riviera, where a typical three-star hotel bill for a family of four peaked at £1,667 in mid-August but fell to £887 by early September. Holidays in Antigua and Turkey also saw big rises.

Mark-ups are lower for mass-market destinations such as Spain, Cyprus and Greece, where there is more competition. School holiday breaks for Cyprus and Spain were only 15% higher on average.

The survey by Morgan Stanley consumer banking found a British holiday camp would charge 42% more in August than in September.

Holiday companies have reported bumper bookings for this summer, and say pricing is set by supply and demand. But parents, who now face a £100 fine if they take their children out of school for holidays, complain they are at the mercy of the industry.

Ministers would like to see discounts of up to 10% for families who keep the rules.