Brits raid piggy bank to pay for holiday

Utility bills soaring, oil rates in crisis and mortgage payments going through the roof? Then dip into your savings to fund your holiday.

That's the approach of millions of Brits who refuse to accept that the crunch is going to stop them having their two weeks playtime, according to research by Abbey Savings.

The bank said almost two thirds of holidaymakers were raiding the piggy bank to pay for breaks, spending more than £50 billion. This, says a spokesman, is costing them up to £3.2 billion in interest, thanks to good current savings account interest rates.

The bank's findings echo a summer of stories from diverse sources suggesting that the annual holiday really is the last thing to be sacrificed in leaner times, despite daily media predictions of a massive recession just around the corner. By Dinah Hatch Travel Mole website.

Published: 20.8.2008