Brits cease city breaks to avoid debt

29 July 2008

While reports indicate many people are not scrapping plans for their main holiday this year, research has shown the credit crunch has affected the number of people taking short city breaks.

Holiday website TravelSupermarket.com has said short breaks are not as popular as in previous years.

Bob Atkinson from the company said: "Short city breaks were quite cheap before, but now with the cost of fuel and therefore flying being higher, these breaks are not as attractive as they previously seemed."

He added people are still taking main holidays and are possibly foregoing some luxuries in order to pay for them, for example eating out less often.

However, Mr Atkinson said some people are more affected than others and the definition of "luxury" varies for each person. Those facing debt management problems may be among those cutting back on trips away.

According to an online survey carried out by travel site Kayak.co.uk, over a third of people are prepared to cut spending on clothes, household items and dining out to pay for a holiday.

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Gregory Pennington is a member of DEMSA whose code of conduct is approved by the Office of Fair Trading.