Energy tourists are planning winter abroad rather than heating their homes

A UK company is encouraging travellers to book a winter holiday to avoid high energy bills.

TravelTime World launched a marketing campaign last Friday called ‘The Heat Is On’ highlighting the low cost per day of long-stay holidays.

Ashley Quint, a holiday designer at the company, said the idea came about after reports that the energy price cap in the UK could be as high as £7,000 (€8,120) a year by April 2023.

An 80 per cent rise in the energy price cap was confirmed from October that could take the average UK household’s gas and electricity bill up to £3,549 (€4,116) a year. The next rise between January and March could cause it to skyrocket up to £5,000 (€5,799). 

Forecasters are now predicting that it may rise as high as £7,700 (€8931) by April.

“£7,000 works out to be about £20 (€23) a day on energy – and from our own experience, right this very second my colleague's smart meter at home is £10 (€12) per day, and that’s without the heating on,” Quint tells Euronews Travel.

For comparison, off-peak destinations like Malta, southern Spain and Portugal, he says, are extremely good value in January and February. The weather is also still pleasant and warm.

“From doing the research over the last couple of weeks – it’s very possible to get a hotel and apartment (including flights and transfers) for around £20-25 (€23-29) per night, based on staying four weeks.”

Warmer destinations like the Canary Islands are likely to be more expensive. Despite having even cheaper per day costs, flights to places further afield can also wrack up the overall price but there are still ways to make it work.

“Going long haul, the flights are more expensive, but accommodation and the cost of living is cheaper, so you need a reasonably long duration to