Why is it important?

Holidays help to make stronger, healthier, happier families, which in turn contribute to a healthier, happier, caring society that benefits everyone.

But some seven million people in the UK are excluded from breaks through lack of money. And over 1.5 million families cannot even afford a day trip.

A recent study by UNICEF placed the UK at the bottom of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries. The study used a variety of indicators including poverty, peer and family relationships and health. Lack of access to a holiday is one measure of poverty. Both the Department of Work and Pensions and the Government’s Social Exclusion Unit use the lack of a one-week break as an indicator of poverty. But the UK has some way to go before access to holidays for disadvantaged families is an integral part of social welfare policy.

Social tourism is a concept rarely mentioned or even understood in the UK. Yet survey after survey shows that the majority of Britons consider holidays a necessity.
Our recent research to find out more about the provision of holidays for families in need in the UK showed that:

seven million people in the UK miss out on a basic annual holiday because of poverty
two-and-a-half million children live in families that are too poor to afford a day-trip
government, policymakers and the public overlook the importance of holidays to families, and do not realise the wider benefits to society.