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Brits spend £12 billion in preparation for their summer holiday

10th July 2013 Print

New research from credit card company Capital One reveals holidaymakers’ extensive and costly efforts to prepare for their summer breaks, as they spend a collective £12 billion on clothes, beauty treatments, fitness regimes and other pre-holiday essentials.

Capital One conducted the research to celebrate its new Aspire World credit card, which offers fee-free foreign transactions on spending abroad and up to 1.25% unlimited cashback in transactions made within the UK.

The research reveals that the average British holidaymaker spends £282 preparing for their summer break abroad. This is almost equal to the average cost of their flight (£296) and not far off the average amount spent on accommodation (£350).

Clothing and swimwear is the biggest pre-holiday outlay, costing the average sun-seeker £53. Travel insurance (£31), accessories like sunglasses and hats (£21), last minute duty free purchases (£21) and electronics (£17) are the next most expensive pre-holiday purchases.

Most popular pre-holiday purchases:

Item(s) purchased - Cost per person (£)

Clothing and swimwear £53
Travel insurance £29
Sunglasses, hats & accessories £21
Last minute duty free purchases £21
Electronics £17
Hair & beauty treatments £15
Make-up, cosmetics & toiletries £15
Luggage & travel accessories £14
Sun creams £13
Gym membership, fitness classes & personal training £12
Medicines and vaccinations £11
Books, magazine & music £11
Toys & games (none electronic) £10
Diet products e.g. slimming aids, specialist foods £8
Guide books / translation books £7

In an attempt to get the perfect beach body, 10 million (24%) British travellers go on a pre-holiday diet, 10.6 million (25%) increase the amount of exercise they do and 2 million (5%) even undertake a detox before they go away. As a result, British holidaymakers shed an average of 7.6 pounds before they reach the beach, equivalent to just over half a stone each or a collective 77 million pounds.

Ensuring they have plenty of time to prepare for their trip, 29% of Brits book time off work specifically to complete their pre-holiday treatments and purchases. Collectively, this amounts to 16 million days off work each year.

Michael Woodburn, Marketing Director, Capital One said: “To celebrate the start of the summer, we’ve launched our new Aspire World credit card, which is designed specifically for those who want to be rewarded for their spending at home and ensure their money goes further when overseas. The cashback element offers customers money in return for spending in the UK as they prepare for their travels, whilst fee-free foreign transactions mean holidaymakers can spend with confidence whilst they’re away.”   

On a regional basis, holidaymakers from London spend the most preparing for their trip at £463, while those from the West Midlands and South East spend the least at £229.

Pre-holiday spend by region:

Region -  Average amount spent on holiday preparations
 
London £463
North West £308
Scotland £304
Wales £277
South West £260
Yorkshire and The Humber £249
East £247
East Midlands £244
North East £231
West Midlands £229
South East £229
UK Average £282

Top tips for using credit cards abroad

Make sure your bank or credit card provider has your current contact details, including mobile phone number so they are able to contact you if they spot unusual transactions on your card while you are abroad.

Pay in the local currency and you may get a better exchange rate on your credit card purchases.

Pay for items worth more than £100 (but less than £30,000) with a credit card and you may be able to make a claim with your supplier, credit card provider or both if things go wrong.