How Brits in the 80s once enjoyed 17-night holidays in Europe for £69 – and teens under 19 even went free
OLD travel brochures have revealed that Brits in the 80s enjoyed 17-night holidays in Europe for just £69, with teenagers under 19 going for free.
Siesta Holidays in Middlesborough has conducted coach holidays around Europe for the past 44 years.
Bosses at the company have released its earliest brochures, to celebrate almost five decades of offering affordable holidays for residents in the North East.
The brochure showed the most popular budget offer in 1982 was an all-inclusive 17-day trip for just £69, which is equivalent to about £345 today.
In 1989, Siesta Holidays advertised getaways to the former Yugoslavia, Majorca, and Austria.
Tourists could either travel by “supercoach” or race through the French countryside on the new SNFC “Holiday Express”.
Five years later the travel firm advertised “apartment hotels” and “mobile homes,” offering a promotion where children under 19 could enjoy a “free holiday”.
Inside the brochure, holidaygoers found details about trips to Euro Disney Resort and were reassured that all holidays were financially secure.
In 1999, Siesta Holidays released another brochure offering breaks from just £49 and two weeks for £69.
Director John Harrison said: “The brochures show just how vital we were in providing affordable trips to the continent for families to make life-long memories.”
Unfortunately, bosses have revealed that the firm will shut down for good next month due to financial pressures.
John cited several factors such as the pandemic and Brexit as the main reason for the closure.
He added: “[Now,] young people are more likely to travel via low-cost airlines to mainland Europe than by bus.
“Another reason is that our client base has gotten older and maybe one or more of the party can’t travel anymore for health reasons.”
Although Siesta Holidays will no longer advertise bargain holiday spots, travellers can still rely on The Sun to find hidden destination gems.
EUROPE’S BEST VALUE HOLIDAY
The Sunny Beach in Bulgaria was rated as Europe’s best-value holiday destination.
The Black Sea resort reclaimed its crown from Turkey’s Marmaris in the 2024 Post Office Travel Money Family Holiday Report, produced with Tui.
At Sunny Beach, a basket of ten-holiday essentials — including meals, drinks and beach necessities — totals just over £110, beating 16 other popular European destinations in the annual cost comparison.
Last year’s winner, Marmaris, hit hard by soaring inflation, slipped to second place.
Its basket price has surged by 17.6 per cent to £117.
Portugal’s Algarve completes the top three, holding its position as the best-value destination using the euro.
However, its costs also ballooned, by 18.4 per cent, with the basket now setting families back £124.
Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at the Post Office, said: “Even though sterling is stronger now than last July, price inflation across Europe means that families need to allow for increases in meals, drinks and other tourist costs.”
The report reveals a stark price divide across the continent, with charges in Ibiza more than double those in budget-friendly Sunny Beach.
Families planning their summer escape should brace for higher costs in most destinations.
Twelve out of the 16 resorts surveyed saw price hikes.
And five destinations, including Ibiza, Madeira and Corfu, saw prices jump by more than ten per cent.
The report also sheds light on families’ spending habits, revealing a worrying trend of budget blowouts.
Seventy-three per cent of parents admitted to overspending by an average of 55 per cent on their last foreign getaway.
It comes after a huge resort just a few hours from the UK was compared to the Maldives.
And a small seaside getaway in the UK has been described as being “over hated” along with claims it has the best of all the nearby beaches