The EVC Magazine Autumn/Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 18
INTRODUCING, THE
SHOULDER SEASON!
EVCs and visits leaders may not be familiar with
the term “shoulder season”, but that’s about to
change. Providers use this phrase to refer to the
period of educational visits either side of the
summer term. This is where you might be able
to get a deal.
Educational visits costs are influenced by supply
and demand. Much like the school holiday effect
on booking holidays, the high demand for multiactivity visits in the summer term inevitably
drives up prices; however, you may be able to
get a better deal if you’re able to be flexible.
Flexibility = savings
In October 2024, we conducted a simple
benchmarking exercise to compare the cost of
a multi-activity, year 6 residential visit across
different seasons – September/October, March/
April, and June/July. We compared prices
between seasons and calculated average costs
and savings – here’s what we found.
We found an average saving
of £2,100 for a three-day,
two-night experience for
30 children in September
compared to June
Prices stay relatively stable in
the off-peak/shoulder season
There was no or little change in prices
between September and March for the
providers we surveyed.
June/July is the most expensive
time to visit
Unsurprisingly, prices in June/July were the highest
across all providers. The average cost of our visit was
£9150 (£305 per pupil), in June. March is the least
expensive.
Price (£) per pupil
Prices change between
March and June
Prices rise sharply as the summer season
approaches for most providers, with an
average percentage increase of 44.5%
between March and June.
Prices in Autumn are generally
lower than in June/July.
We found an average saving of £70 per pupil when
booking in September compared to June.
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WHAT WE LOOKED AT: We asked providers to
provide a quote for the following residential visit:
→ Multi-activity (land-based) programme
→ 30 year 6 children
→ Dormitory-style accommodation
→ Monday to Wednesday
We excluded the cost of insurance and travel. For an
approximately comparable travel cost, we only looked
at centres up to 1.5 hours of driving distance from our
local school.
