Nearly half of Brits are ditching European city breaks – as they are too pricey

The average European city break costs nearly £1,000 per person – the equivalent of a seven-day Spanish seaside holiday for a family of three. A poll of 1,500 adults, who have been for a weekend away during the past three years, found 50 percent would think twice about going on another one anytime soon – due to the cost.

Accommodation alone cost those polled an average of £382 in total, with a further £229 spent on food when there.

And visiting all the must-see attractions during their trip added up to £182.

As a result, 46 percent are considering changing their approach to getaways – going on longer holidays, rather than several short breaks throughout the year.

And half (50 percent) even say they would think twice about going on another city break anytime soon, due to it being not good value for money.

While three in ten want to ensure they get the most value out of a trip – and many are turning their back on short city breaks altogether.

Gary Anslow, director of sales in the UK and Ireland for Norwegian Cruise Line, which commissioned the research, said: “Brits have a real hunger for exploring the world, but the rising cost of travel is an ongoing challenge.

“Our research found that half of holidaymakers like to visit a new place every time they go on a trip, and one in three want the best of both worlds – a pool-side holiday and city break wrapped up into one.

“With inter-sailing where you visit multiple cities on a cruise holiday, you can do it all.”

It emerged accommodation, food and drink, and getting to the destination are the leading items which travellers think cost too much on a city break.

And the biggest concerns when it comes to booking a city break include awkward flight times eating into the trip (34 percent), increasing costs for short-haul flights (32 percent), and not being able to fit in everything you want to see in a short space of time (30 percent).

Despite this, holidaymakers have been on four city-based getaways in the last five years.

The research also found it is Italy which holidaymakers have in their sights for their next trip – with Florence and Venice leading the way.

And Barcelona, Reykjavik, and Lisbon are also popular hotspots for holiday planners.

However, 61 percent of those polled, via OnePoll, did admit with the price of holidays increasing, they would consider cutting down on eating out, activities, and excursions whilst on holiday, to keep costs low.