Long-haul flights from UK now cheaper than going to Ibiza

Flying long haul would barely enter the thinking of many families planning their annual holiday, with the perceived cost ruling out many destinations before the search had even begun. However, this year a series of colliding events, including a weak dollar, greedy Spanish hoteliers and competition for tourists in the Middle East, means it can be cheaper to go to Florida, Dubai or Thailand than to spend a traditional two weeks on the Costa del Sol.

Research from price comparison site TravelSupermarket has shown that some long-haul destinations cost significantly less to fly to and stay in than Spain, where British tourists make up the largest number of foreign visitors every year.

The site found that during the half- term holidays in May, flying and staying in a four-star hotel in Abu Dhabi cost £308 per person. A similar holiday in Menorca was £551 per person while Tenerife came in at £420. Flying and staying in Dubai costs £310 while Florida is £371, both with flights from Gatwick. The quotes are based on a family of four staying for seven nights starting the last weekend in May.

Far-flung destinations also come in cheaper during the summer holidays. Pattaya in Thailand and Bali are up to a fifth cheaper than Ibiza or Menorca, according to Emma Coulthurst from TravelSupermarket.

“People may think their holiday budget can only stretch to short haul and that they can’t afford long haul, so they don’t even consider it.

“But the reality is, long-haul destinations can offer incredible value this summer,” she says. “It is really worth doing your research and comparing both to see what else you can get for your money.

“But, be realistic on weather. Florida, for example, is also coming up cheaper this July and August and offering some incredible deals – but the weather at that time of year is incredibly hot and humid.”

Several factors have come into play to make the more exotic destinations cheaper. Firstly, the “Trump slump” with interest in travel to the US falling off since the presidential election. The drop in the value of sterling against the dollar after the Brexit referendum also sparked a fall in visitor numbers.

In an attempt to entice British holidaymakers back, US holiday operators have cut prices by as much as 35% this year compared with last year, according to Coulthurst.

Added to this, there have been falls in the prices of holidays to Abu Dhabi and Dubai of about 10%, as both try and attract more tourists.

And then there is the Spanish effect. All of this comes in the wake of a period when Spanish hoteliers began putting up their prices following a successful year in 2016, making packages there more expensive than to other similar destinations. Tour operator Thomas Cook last year reported that Spanish hotels had pushed up prices by 8%.

The number of British tourists jumped by the most in over a decade to hit a record that year, even bucking concerns that the Brexit vote would hit the number of visitors.

UK residents have long made up the largest number of tourists to Spain. In the Canary Islands, the second most popular destination, one in three tourists is British.

However, it should be noted that while savings can be made in getting to the long-haul destinations, there are differences in the cost of living when there, which have to be factored in when budgeting.

In Malaga, a three-course dinner in a mid-range restaurant costs on average £13.06 while it comes in at £17.13 in Dubai, according to TravelSupermarket.

Car hire is also substantially more expensive in Florida, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, although the cost of petrol is significantly cheaper than in Spain.

The 2016 spike in visitors to Spain came as a series of terrorist attacks hit Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. But last week, Thomas Cook announced that it would start taking British tourists back to Tunisia.

The Foreign Office was advising against travel there until last summer following an attack by an Isis gunman in Sousse in 2015, when 38 people were killed.