Term-time holidays spark park discounts

Britain's classrooms were emptier than usual in the run-up to the school holidays, according to a major holiday parks group. And there will still be empty desks when schools re-open in September.

Record numbers have this year been taking advantage of lower prices in the weeks before and after the summer break, says Park Holidays UK.

According to group director Tony Clish, bookings from parents with school-age children were up by around 60 percent during the first fortnight in July. September figures are also up.

But their decision, said Tony, could actually benefit families waiting until the official start of the school break:

"Because we have taken many more bookings for the first fortnight of July and in September, we've taken the decision to discount some of our main holiday prices," he said.

"Many have been reduced by a hundred pounds or more, meaning that we can offer families a seven-night stay from around three hundred pounds," added Tony.

Overall, he said, bookings at Park Holiday UK's 25 seaside parks in south and west England were up by 24 percent on last year's figures.

An increasing number of school heads and governors, believes Tony, are adopting a more sympathetic policy towards parents taking term-time breaks.

They recognise, he says, that holidays are a valuable opportunity for families to relax and come together - and that for some people, such breaks are only affordable at off-peak times.

However, he says that his company would much rather see the adoption of a six-term year for schools. This would spread demand across a considerably longer period of time, and allow a more even pricing structure throughout the holiday months.

With a further booking boom likely over the next two weeks, said Tony, and some parks already approaching capacity, the advice is to act quickly in order to get the best choice.

Current price reductions are posted on the group's website at ParkHolidaysUK.com.