Budget before you go with all-inclusive deals

Holidaymakers looking to save cash can budget before they go with all-inclusive breaks, one expert has said.

According to online holiday vendor travelsupermarket.com, there has been a rise in the number of Brits booking all-inclusive deals as people try and reign in their finances.

Statistics released by the website on all inclusive holidays this month revealed that booking enquiries for all-inclusive holidays were 17 per cent higher in the five days up to January 1st 2009 compared to the same period last year, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Furthermore, searches for self-catering breaks were up by 14 per cent and searches for cottage-style breaks were up 27 per cent, indicating holidaymakers are looking for ways to cut down their costs while taking a break, such as eating in.

Bob Atkinson, travel expert from Travelsupermarket.com, said: "With the whole credit crunch, people want to be able to budget.

"By taking an all inclusive holiday, you are saying, 'I bought that holiday and I am going to spend x per person and the only thing I am going to have to spend on top of that is a few incidentals because everything is included.' Be it kiddies' activities, food and drink or your entertainment."

A study conducted by Visit London and VisitBritain entitled ‘The UK's recession stress buster: Brits spend less on food costs to save for holiday’, published in December 2008, backed up travelsupermarket.com's findings.

The study found that 90 per cent of the population claim they are cutting down on spending and that 45 per cent are planning to cut back on holidays, breaks or day trips.

Brits are planning to do this by reducing the amount spent on purchases such as food (80 per cent), fuel (74 per cent), clothes (67 per cent) and entertainment or ‘little luxuries’ (67 per cent).

Mr Atkinson explained: "At a time when you've got the whole issue around the pound and the euro, there's the whole issue of how much spending money am I going to have?

"If I am going to have to spend more does that mean it is going to cost me more?"

According to statistics from the Office for National Statistics released in a report entitled 'Travel and Tourism: Visits abroad down six per cent', published December 2008, the number of visits abroad by UK residents decreased by six per cent to 16.4 million when compared with the previous three months.

Furthermore, associated spending with visits abroad decreased by six per cent to £8.8 billion, visits by UK residents to Europe decreased by one per cent at 54.6 million and visits to North America decreased by one per cent at 4.6 million.

Mr Atkinson concluded: "You know that by booking that all inclusive holiday, you've set your price.

"You know what it is costing you before you go and you've paid for that before you travel, so you are not coming back to a huge bill."