Cheeky Trip, the holiday price comparison site, has released its Monthly Holiday Price Index for June, showcasing the trends in foreign holiday prices. The analysis reveals that the cheapest holiday prices experienced an average increase of 13% between 2022 and 2023. Further examination shows that short-haul destinations witnessed a higher increase of 17% compared to long-haul destinations, where the cheapest deals rose by 10%.
Notably, prices to Spain played a significant role in driving up average short-haul holiday prices. The Canary Islands saw the highest increase at 29%, followed by the Balearics at 25% and mainland Spain at 22%. However, some short-haul destinations experienced below-average rate increases for their cheapest deals, such as Greece (11%), Turkey (11%), and Malta (3.2%).
For long-haul holidays, the Caribbean saw a price increase of 17%, and Mexico recorded a 12% increase, impacting the average lead prices. Despite this, there are still affordable options for flexible travelers. Egypt displayed the smallest price increase at 1.4%, well below inflation rates, and Cape Verde even saw a decrease of 0.9% in prices.
The price of the cheapest last-minute holiday departures rose by 16% in June 2023 compared to the previous year, while holidays departing in one month increased by 21% in the same period. These figures reflect higher peak season summer pricing. A similar pattern emerged with advanced bookings in January 2023 for summer departures, witnessing a massive 49% increase in lead prices, indicating reduced need for early booking discounting this year.
Steve Campion, Managing Director at Cheeky Trip, explains that rising holiday prices are influenced by supply and demand dynamics. Travel providers face similar rising costs as others but may lower prices to sell unsold flight seats and hotel stays, rather than not selling them at all when supply exceeds demand. Campion suggests that the increase in lead prices might indicate reduced capacity, as the industry has not yet returned to 2019 levels, and it could also signal strong pent-up demand for holidays abroad despite the cost-of-living crisis.
