Scots tourists ‘overspending on foreign holidays’

Drinks by the pool eat into the Scottish holiday budget. Picture: Getty

Research has found that Scottish holidaymakers spent an average of £707.92, which is 20 per cent more than their planned budget of £588.89.

By comparison, the UK average spend was £557.49, only  6 per cent more than holiday-makers saved up for.

The Post Office research discovered the biggest drain on the holiday purse were meals, sightseeing and drinks, but Scots also spent 58.2 per cent more on visits to water parks than the UK average at a cost of £49.76.

And they splashed out more on souvenirs, paying £63.45 for items – 41.9 per cent more than the average UK spend.

Ice creams left Scots out of pocket, too. They spent £27.89 on frozen treats compared to the UK average of £22.23, while eating out made a large dent in the holiday savings, with Scots forking out £160.52 in contrast to £144.14.

However, the study, Scottish Family Holiday Report, has discovered that prices for meals, drinks, beach items and days out are down in several of eight popular resorts.

In the study, Sunny Beach in Bulgaria and Spain’s Costa del Sol were said to offer the best value.

Resort prices for families travelling abroad to Majorca in Spain; the Algarve in Portugal; Corfu and Crete in Greece; Sorrento in Italy; and Marmaris in Turkey were surveyed and prices in Bournemouth were also researched in order to show how the UK compares with Europe.

Using the criteria of a week’s worth of meals and drinks plus beach items and a day out at a water park, Sunny Beach in Bulgaria came out the cheapest with a final bill of £405.98, for the third year in a row.

Researchers also discovered a price fall of 7.6 per cent, which made it one of five resorts to show a year-on-year reduction.

In second and third places, the Costa del Sol (£429.50) and Majorca (£434.66) registered even bigger falls – 13.9 per cent and 17.8 per cent respectively.

Prices in the Algarve were also down 9.8 per cent, taking the Portuguese favourite to fourth place in the barometer table. Despite showing the biggest price fall since last summer of 21.4 per cent, resort costs in Crete (£558.04) were 37.5 per cent more expensive than Sunny Beach and almost 10 per cent higher than its sister Greek island, Corfu (£509.22).

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “Scottish holidaymakers emerged as some of the biggest spenders in our research. With the continuing volatility of sterling, it will therefore make good sense for them to plan the holiday budget carefully before leaving home.”