The hidden cost of your holiday

Suzanne Stephenson5 April 2012

Working out the true cost of a holiday in the sun will be harder than ever next year after major tour operators brought in new-style brochures, a report warned yesterday.

Holidaymakers could have to pay extra for airline meals or transfers to hotels, as well as pre-bookable seats, bigger luggage allowances and shorter check-in times.

Three of the main tour operators - Airtours, Thomas Cook and Thomson - have unpackaged their traditional package holidays in their summer 2003 brochures.

Travellers will have to be clear when booking what extras they want and how much they will cost, said the Consumers' Association magazine Holiday Which?

Airtours' Sundeal and Thomas Cook's Basic brands allocate accommodation on arrival and do not even guarantee that this will be from the tour operator's brochure.

Holiday Which? also found the price of the same holiday differed between tour operators, sometimes by large amounts.

The same holiday for a family of three flying from London Gatwick to the Sol Magalluf Park Hotel in Majorca was £391 cheaper with Airtours than with Thomson.

Flying from a regional airport will also add to costs - JMC had a £179 per person surcharge for flying from Glasgow to the Costa del Sol.

'The new tiering system will add extra confusion and consumers need to be sure they price the holiday with all the extras to get a true figure,' said editor Patricia Yates.

Admission charges at top British attractions rose by an average of 17 per cent in the past two years, a survey by Holiday Which? found.

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