Quarter of Brits fund holidays with borrowed cash

Sept. 3, 2010 - PRLog -- Latest research from www.sunshine.co.uk, the UK’s fastest growing online independent travel agent, has revealed the number of Brits that admit to borrowing money in order to fund their holidays. Over a quarter, 28%, of respondents admitted to borrowing funds to spend exclusively on their holiday; whilst a fifth of these admitted that they’d ‘rather be in debt’ than go without a holiday.

The research was commissioned by sunshine.co.uk in order to discover how Brits prefer to finance their holidays each year. A sample of 1,891 holidaymakers were subsequently polled, asked questions surrounding their payment preferences.

Those involved in the study had taken or booked a holiday in the past 12 months. Respondents were asked the question, “Did you fund your holiday with your own or borrowed money?” and 28% admitting to using borrowed money.

These people were then asked to stipulate exactly what they meant by ‘borrowed money.’ Over half, 51%, admitted to paying for their holiday on a credit card; whilst a quarter, 24%, claimed to have received a bank loan in order to fund their trip. A fifth admitted to having borrowed money from family or friends.

Whilst a third, 32%, of those who had borrowed money claimed it was the first time they had done so for a holiday; the remaining 68% admitted to regularly doing it in order to fund their trips abroad.

These people were subsequently asked how long, in the past, it had usually taken them to clear their holiday debt. Over half admitted that it had taken them 12 months or more to complete their repayments, whilst one in five, 22%, stated that they paid off their debt within six months. Less than 1 in 10, 7%, claimed to pay off their debt within one month.
Those who borrowed cash were also asked to suggest why they went ahead with a holiday if the funds weren’t readily available within their personal budget; with a fifth, 21%, claiming that they’d ‘rather be in debt than go without a holiday.’ 41% admitted that they did so as they preferred the flexibility of paying for a holiday in instalments.

Chris Brown, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, commented on the findings:
“Borrowing money has unfortunately become an increasing necessity for those wanting to enjoy a little luxury in this tough economic climate. The fact that many would rather experience debt than go without a holiday is surprising, but it just proves how important a little respite from the pressures of everyday life can be.

“Nevertheless, people need to be careful when considering where this borrowed money comes from. Whilst credit cards can seem like an excellent way to put off large payments; the interest accrued will make your holiday far more expensive in the long run, especially if the debt is paid off slowly. Searching for cheap holiday deals is often a far better way of saving the pounds. Holidays don’t have to be expensive, and we aim to save our customers a great amount of money by offering holidays even for those on a budget.”

ENDS

LINK: http://www.sunshine.co.uk
For more information, or to arrange interviews with Chris Brown, please contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or email shannon@10yetis.co.uk  

Editors Notes

sunshine.co.uk is the UK's leading online independent travel agent and was founded by Chris Brown and Chris Clarkson, the same people behind Holiday Watchdog which was bought by TripAdvisor in February 2008 for an undisclosed amount of money. Sunshine.co.uk offers low cost holidays and budget flights to destinations all over the world as well as great deals and discounted hotels.

TravelMole recently voted sunshine.co.uk as the best Travel Agency in the 2010 web awards.