Calls from the travel industry for shorter school summer holidays and longer half terms have been growing louder, due to sweltering temperatures in July and August, rising prices, and a shift among families towards shoulder season travel.
Advantage Travel Partnership saw a 3% fall in families travelling this summer, but bookings for May and June were up 11%, while holiday sales for September and October are up 28%.
CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said has added her voice to a call for a rejig of term times to enable more families to take advantage of lower prices and cooler temperatures during the shoulder season.
“The increase in consumers looking to book during the shoulder season supports the case that there should be a rethinking of the traditional school holiday calendar – shortening summer breaks and extending other holiday breaks, such as half term, throughout the year to allow families to enjoy these destinations, whilst avoiding the extreme heat and potentially benefitting from lower prices,” she said.
Many other agents agree with Julia, with some saying that they are already seeing as much demand for travel during May half-term as July and August.
“My May and August were about equal for bookings. I am getting more and more comments about people not so keen on travelling in August now as it’s ‘too hot’,” said Not Just Travel Agent Lucy Allen. “But I don’t see the point of extending October half-term as there are so few options for short- and mid-haul sun.”
TTNG said it had seen a ‘noticeable shift’ in family travel patterns towards off-peak months.
Recent booking data from its Independent Travel Experts (ITE) reveals that 26% of families travelled in May and June, when prices were ‘significantly lower’ than during the summer peak. In May, which included the spring half-term, the average holiday cost was £5,345, but this fell to £4,285 in June. In July and August, which accounted for 59% of family bookings, the average prices rose to £6,900 and £6392 respectively.
October – which includes the autumn half-term – accounted for 14.5% of ITE’s family bookings, with prices averaging £5,671.
“The trend [towards shoulder season travel] appears to be price-led, with families increasingly seeking value by travelling in shoulder months,” said a TTNG spokesperson. “While weather remains a consideration, the cost savings in May, June and October are compelling, especially for larger family groups.”
They said agents had also noticed ‘more flexibility’ among parents willing to travel during term-time, despite the risk of school fines of £80 to £160, or around school inset days ‘particularly when the savings are substantial’.
“If school holiday reforms proceed, we anticipate further growth in off-peak family travel,” said the spokesperson. “This would not only ease pressure on summer availability, but also support a more balanced distribution of bookings across the year, benefiting both consumers and the trade.”
Will this lower prices?
Some agents pointed out that prices during May and June are likely to increase if the spring half-term is extended from one to two weeks across England due to supply and demand.
Wales-based Not Just Travel agent Emma Summerill said: “Prices in May and October are the same, if not more expensive than the summer because everyone is trying to fly on just two days.”
Some quick research by Travel Gossip found that, while there are bargains to be had for May 2026 half-term, prices aren’t always cheaper than in August.
For example, we saw a Jet2holidays seven-night self-catering package for a family of four to Mallorca in May, with flights from Newcastle, for £4,080, which was £45 more than during early August. The same package in the week before May half-term cost £1,332 less.
What do tour operators say?
Earlier this year, Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy said the operator and airline hadn’t seen any noticeable change in family booking patterns, adding: “Families go away when the school holidays are.
“We are not really seeing a negative trend for June, July and August. People want to go away when it’s hot in the peak season. You hear over the last couple of years that people will burn alive if they go away in June, July and August but it’s not true. June, July and August have always been hot.”
However, TUI said it has seen a change in families’ search behaviour. Searches for holidays during February half-term were up 13% and in May half-term they were up 6% – with searches in May one-and-a-half times higher than for travel during any other school holiday.
Perhaps surprisingly, TUI said October half-term has seen the biggest increase in searches at 17% year-on-year. “The data shows a significantly early demand for travel in October 2025, with early planning for the autumn,” it said.
Searches for beach holidays during the shoulder season were up 2% year on year, while searches for city breaks in the quieter months were up 17%, and lakes and mountains saw an 18% rise, added TUI.
What are the alternatives to shifting term times?
Protected Trust Services said its members had noticed families saving money by taking their summer holiday closer to the back-to-school date, travelling in the last week of August, which is generally cheaper.
It said they’re also booking shorter, four- and five-night breaks rather than the traditional week or 10 days, so they want shorter flight times, which is helping to keep Spain firmly in the top slot (with bookings up almost 46%), followed by Greece and Tenerife.
This seems to be backed up by TUI’s search data, which showed that families looking for five-night breaks increased 24% year-on-year, while searches for seven-night holidays were up 10%.
