In response to the looming cost-of-living crisis, Easyjet Holidays has designed a series of 28-day holiday packages that allows British travellers to ‘emigrate’ abroad for the winter, to save money. Jenny Southan reports

According to Easyjet Holidays, 40 per cent of British people have searched for an escape to avoid sky-high UK bills this winter. In response, the company has launched a series of 28-day “Escape the UK” holidays that are cheaper than meeting the cost of the average UK household’s monthly winter bills.

Priced per person, per month, the all-inclusive holidays covers travel, accommodation, food and costly outgoings such as wifi and gym membership. There are also even more affordable self-catering options starting from £346 per person, per month, in Turkey.

The packages are ideally suited to those that can work remotely in resorts located in countries such as Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain and Portugal but would also suit retirees and students.

British people who book the £650 per person, 28-day stay at the five-star Stella Gardens Resort in Egypt, for example, will have all-inclusive meals, free spa and gym access, free wifi and TV streaming services, free snacks and free drinks (both alcoholic and soft). The weather will also be much warmer.

With no fuel bills, petrol costs or grocery bills to pay, the holiday comes out £227 cheaper per person than staying in the UK, according to ONS data scrutinised by a personal finance expert.

Lynn Beattie, an ACMA management accountant, says: “The data collected in this study is incredibly insightful showing just how much the average household in the UK will spend on the most basic of living expenses.

“While escaping abroad does not make all our financial commitments disappear, it’s startling to know that like for like, it’s cheaper to buy an all-inclusive holiday than stay in the UK this winter. For consumers who could viably sublet or Airbnb their homes and work abroad, the new package deal by easyJet holidays poses a very attractive offer.”

AVERAGE UK EXPENDITURE TABLE
UK Expenditure Average monthly cost per UK household Average monthly cost per person Average 28-day cost per person
Accommodation (rent) £1068 £445 £415.33
Gas and Electric £175 £72.92 £68.06
Water £31 £12.92 £12.06
TV streaming services £10.75 £4.48 £4.18
Food shop, excluding alcohol £368 £153.33 £143.11
Eating out and takeaways £285 £118.75 £110.83
Wifi and landline £45 £18.75 £17.50
Travel £272 £113.33 £105.78
Total £2,255 £939 £877

The winter sabbatical innovation from Easyjet Holidays follows research revealing that more than 50 per cent of the nation is considering escaping the UK this winter to avoid heating bill hikes.

Many Brits are unaware that rising living costs have pulled their monthly expenditures above the cost of foreign travel, with over a quarter (28 per cent) wrongly estimating that a month’s holiday abroad for a family of four would be twice the cost of them staying at home or more.

The study also found that 36 per cent of Brits are cancelling their entertainment subscriptions. Given the option to move to sunnier climates, 47 per cent are likely to consider leaving the UK permanently to avoid rising costs of living. That number is even higher among young people, of which 70 per cent said the same.

Matt Callaghan, Easyjet Holidays’ customer and operations director, says: “With a growing number of Brits now searching online to see if they can escape abroad this winter, we knew we needed to try to provide consumers with a solution. We looked at everything an Easyjet Holidays package deal has to offer, and have been able to confirm that yes, comparably, our new 28-day winter escape is cheaper than staying at home this year.”