23 Apr 2014
Center Parcs advert controversy sparks calls for debate over term time school holidays
BY Jak Phillips
The controversy surrounding a Center Parcs TV advert which fell foul of the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for offering discount family-themed breaks only available during school-term time, has led to tourism industry calls for a review of the policy of fining parents for taking children on term time breaks.
Promoting midweek breaks for £279, Center Parcs’ advert showed parents and school-aged children enjoying resort activities, with small print stating that the offer "excludes school holidays".
Prompted to investigate after receiving two complaints, the ASA ruled the advert “irresponsibly encouraged parents to take their children out of school," noting it was aimed at families yet wasn’t available during weekends or school holidays.
However, a spokesperson for Center Parcs told Leisure Opportunities the judgement was “extremely harsh” and pointed out that the advert had not been “banned”, as has widely been reported, stating instead that the company had been told it needed to remove the strapline emphasising the price point.
The spokesperson added that the company has to reduce prices significantly during off-peak periods to attract guests, likening the resulting price structure to that of peak and off-peak rail journeys.
Kurt Janson, policy director for the Tourism Alliance, said the tourism industry would welcome a debate as to how to enable families to undertake more affordable holidays while not adversely impacting on their education.
“It is a question of getting the right sort of balance rather than a clear case of affordable holidays or education,” he told Leisure Opportunities.
“Spreading demand would be of considerable benefit to the tourism industry, as extending the tourism season would help with maintaining the viability of many businesses.”
At present, parents are subject to fines if they take their children on holiday during school term time – with a recent BBC survey suggesting the number of fines issued to parents by local authorities had increased by more than 70 per cent since the government introduced tougher regulations in September 2013. Despite the fines, many parents are currently willing to risk the punishment in return for the cut-price holiday deals available during term time.
In one case, a ski holiday company recently offered to pay any fines incurred by parents that booked a term time break through it, with the company owner claiming that 90 per cent of those who had contacted him were supportive of the move.
Justine Roberts, CEO of popular web forum Mumsnet, wouldn’t be drawn on whether term time fines should be scrapped, but noted that their introduction, combined with the higher travel costs during school holidays, made it a “lose-lose” situation for parents.
“Three quarters of our users think holiday companies are exploiting parents who have no other choice about the dates they travel,” she told Leisure Opportunities.
“Obviously it's hard to refute the laws of supply and demand, but equally looking at it from a cost plus basis, holiday companies seem to be happily making extraordinary profits out of families and not surprisingly, many feel they are being ripped off as a result."
This was a point refuted by Janson, who said the perception that businesses increase their prices to profit-gouge from families during the school holidays is wrong and largely stems from the fact they heavily discount their prices during off-peak periods.
He said the higher summer prices are caused by a widespread preference for family holidays during the six week summer break, resulting in high demand against limited supply, adding that this has been exacerbated by the clampdown on term time holidays.
“The problem with a fining system is that it favours those families that can pay the fines rather than those that are the poorest,” he said. “In effect, it becomes a fee to take children out of school that only affluent families are able to pay.”
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