£ 460 million
£ 600 million
£ 1.2 billion
• 79 % of parents whose child went on a day trip paid £ 100 or less for day trips last year. 58 % paid £ 50 or less. The average total amount spent on their child’ s day trips was £ 80.19
• Almost two thirds( 65 %) of parents whose child went on a UK residential trip spent more than £ 100, and almost a quarter( 24 %) spent more than £ 300
• Parents spent an average of £ 235.95 on UK residential trips in the last year
• Almost half( 49 %) of parents whose child went on a foreign school trip paid more than £ 500 last year. Almost a quarter( 24 %) of these parents paid more than £ 1,000
• Parents spent an average of £ 755.32 on foreign school trips last year
• The average cost of a UK day trip is £ 38.74, the average cost for a UK residential trip is £ 170.98 and the average cost for a foreign trip is £ 572.21 2
Of those going on trips in the last year, parents spent more than:
UK day trips 4
£ 460 million
UK residential trips 5
£ 600 million
Overseas trips 6
£ 1.2 billion
2
Average spend on UK day trips is £ 80.19. Average number of trips per child going on them is 2.07. 80.19 / 2.07 = £ 38.74 per trip; Average spend on UK residential trips is £ 235.95. Average number of trips per child going on them is 1.38. 235.95 / 1.38 = £ 170.98 per trip; Average spend on overseas trips is £ 755.32. Average number of overseas trips for those going on them is 1.32. 755.32 / 1.32 = £ 572.21 per trip
4
53 % of 10,996,420 parents whose child went on UK day trips = 5,828,103 parents. Average spend per parent was £ 80.19. 80.19
*
5828103 = £ 467,355,547
5
23 % of 10,996,420 parents whose child went on a UK residential trip = 2,529,177 parents. The average spend was £ 235.95. 2529177
*
235.95 = £ 596,759,219
6
15 % of 10,996,420 parents whose child went on an overseas trip = 1,649,463 parents. The average spend was £ 755.32 across overseas trips. 755.32 * 1,649,463 = £ 1,245,872,393.
*
Based on the the sum of the next three numbers, UK day trips + UK residential trips + overseas trips
Image: iStock. com / SeventyFour
32 THE NATIONAL PARENT SURVEY 2026