All-inclusive holidays in Turkey and Spain cost around a quarter less than if clients choose a bed and breakfast deal and eat out independently, new research shows.
Post Office Travel Money analysed a range of all-inclusive packages in key destinations and matched them with a comparable three-star hotel and flight deal for travel at the end of July.
Using typical resort prices, the cost of meals and drinks was added to produce a valid comparison.
The biggest saving was in Marmaris, Turkey, where a £1,229 all-inclusive package worked out 27% cheaper than bed and breakfast plus meals and drinks, which cost an extra £462. The next largest saving, 24%, was in Majorca, where the all-inclusive came to £1,600 and the B&B to £2,108.
However, better deals were found on mainland Spain, where costs for B&B holidays on the Costa del Sol worked out 12% cheaper, while on the Costa Blanca they were 4% cheaper. In only one other destination, the Maltese resort of Sliema, did it prove to be cheaper to go independently. Here, the all-inclusive package was almost 20% more expensive, at £2,283.
The research was accompanied by a survey of 2,000 travellers by specialist company Populus. It found that while there were savings to be had in all-inclusives, almost two-thirds of parents who took those types of holidays in Europe spent an average £271 on extras outside their hotel, including £67 on eating out.
Another 71% spent an average £321 more on extras during a long-haul all-inclusive holiday.
To add to this, many families admitted paying extra for upgraded meals, premium drinks and other items within their all-inclusive hotels. Around 45% spent an average £339 on top of their basic holiday cost in Europe.
