Million of Britons head into debt to fund their summer holidays

By Tim Clark
Updated: 06:04 EST, 3 August 2010

It's a precious part of family life and, according to a new survey, millions of Britons are prepared to get into debt to preserve their annual holiday.

According to research published by insolvency trade body R3, up to two million people are borrowing up to £1,000 each to head away each summer and take months to pay it back.

The study found that people in Scotland were the most likely to borrow, with 12 per cent saying they would get in to debt to fund their holiday, while 10 per cent of Londoners would also borrow money to escape abroad.

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Younger people were found to be more comfortable with taking out a loan to cover their travel costs compared to older people.

The research found that 2,329,500 people had borrowed approximately £1,300 each to fund their summer trips – with most people taking an average of seven months to pay off the debt.

R3 vice-president Frances Coulson said: 'That people are prepared to take on a substantial amount of debt for such a long period of time in order to afford a holiday is worrying, especially as these are still economically uncertain times.

'Personal insolvency hit record levels in the first quarter of this year and looks set to rise - so we’re urging people not to spend more than they earn.'