South West tourist industry calls for staggered summer holidays

Leaders in the South West tourism industry are calling on the Government to change the school holidays system in the UK.

The South West Tourism Alliance says by staggering school summer holidays the season will be extended.

They say it will also allow people to travel abroad without paying increased flight and accommodation costs.

Many South West campsites rely on last minute bookings and these are affected by poor weather.

The campsites say more families could have come on holiday in May and June when the weather was better but parents do not want to be fined for taking children out of school in term time.

Several other countries use staggered summer holidays.

France splits into three regions which take winter and Easter breaks at different times to reduce crowding on the transport system and holiday resorts.

The South West Tourism Alliance says the UK should look at other models and work together to solve rising holiday costs.

Some schools in the South West have experimented with cutting a week off the summer holiday and adding it to the October half term.

This benefits tourists who can go abroad during the extended autumn break.

Several South West tourist businesses disagree with the change and say it shortens the summer even further which costs them business.