Tour operator ends price discrimination for single-parent family holidays

A tour operator has come up with package deals that it claims puts an end to “pricing discrimination” for single parent family holidays.

Resorts normally base prices on two adults sharing one room and so a child who shares a room with a parent ends up paying adult prices for the holiday.

The average saving is £398

Virgin has struck a deal with ten resorts, including all four resorts within the Elite Island Resorts Collection that offer family-friendly holidays. The average saving for a seven-night package holiday in the Caribbean for single-parent family holidays is £398. This can happen because the new pricing structure offers a reduction for the second occupant when they are a child.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that there are nearly two million single-parent families living in the UK. The figure has increased by 15 per cent in the last 20 years (between 1996 and 2016), with 90 per cent of these families headed by a lone female parent.

One in four families are single-parent

Rosie Ferguson, chief executive of charity for single parents Gingerbread, said:

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and single parent families make up one in four families with children in the UK. We constantly hear from single parents who find themselves ‘priced out’ of family activities.

These new offers from Virgin Holidays show that they appreciate the value of single parent families, and we hope other companies will follow in their footsteps.

Joe Thompson, managing director at Virgin Holidays, told Sky News that the “lack of flexibility” in the travel industry was something that had caused frustration with single-parent families.

He added:

We are proud to do our bit in helping single-parents give their families the opportunity to explore some of the most exciting destinations across the globe.

Are you a single-parent? What do you think of the initiative? Leave a comment