Schools Out For Summer - Unofficially with 1 in 5 Families to Take Children Out of School Early To Save on Summer Holidays

As summer holiday season approaches, research conducted by lastminute.com has found that 1 in 5 parents (20 per cent) plan to take their children out of school early this year to save on holiday costs. This questionable approach to holiday money-saving comes after National Educational Welfare Board figures in October revealed the average primary school pupil misses 11 out of 183 days of school a year, rising to 13 at post-primary level.

The survey also found that those in Leinster (31 per cent) and those aged 35-54 (23 per cent) were most likely to end their kids’ summer term early to take advantage of off-peak holiday prices.  
 
Commenting on the results of the survey Mark Maddock, MD of lastminute.com UK and Ireland stated that, “This practice is also commonplace in the UK. As budgets are tight this year, there are many tips to help keep costs under control that will not impact on kids’ school attendance. For example travellers can make considerable savings by booking on a certain day or being flexible about the day of the week they travel.”

With many alternative ways to save money on travel costs lastminute.com, some of the ‘insider’ tips mentioned by lastminue.com include:
 
1.    Best Day To Book: Try browsing and booking on a Saturday morning. Bookings put on hold by business customers on a Friday night are released (bookings not made within the hold timeframe are auto-cancelled at midnight) and inventory may become available again.

2.    Best Day To Travel:  This depends on the route, but – if travelling to the United States, for example – many airlines charge a weekend travel supplement for travel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  If you travel Monday-Thursday, you might get a lower fare.

About the survey
The survey was carried out on behalf of lastminute.com by iReach between May 24 and May 27 2013. Total sample size of adults across Ireland was 1,000. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of the adult population.

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