Once upon a time, you could book a trip to the Tower of London for 10p. Now, it’ll set you back £34.80 per adult.
In news that’ll shock absolutely no one, London tourist attractions came out as the worst offenders in a new study looking at how the cost of a holiday has changed in 50 years.
Researchers at the consumer watchdog Which? looked at data including flights, packages, car hires, and days out in order to determine the biggest price hikes since 1974.
Although the price of flights has fallen since the 1970s, jetting off now costs more than it did in the ‘90s of early 2000s. The prices of package holidays have also soared.
However, the most shocking increases were associated with days out in our very own capital, which says a lot about the overall cost of living in London.
London’s most inflated attractions
Using the Bank of England inflation calendar, Which? reworked past prices for inflation.
In 1974, a trip to the Tower of London cost 10p — or 90p in today’s money. But this is a stark difference to the £34.80 entry fee if 2024, an increase of 3,767%.
Other London attractions have also seen eye-watering price hikes.
Madame Tussauds, for instance, used to be 75p — or £7 in today’s money. But now, tickets purchased on the day have increased by 500% to £42 on the day, or £33 if purchased in advance.
Similarly, Kew Gardens, which used to be 1p or 9p in today’s money, now has a price range between £12 and £24, which is an increase of up to 26,566%.
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London Zoo used to be 80p (£7.20 today) to enter, but the now costs up to £33 at peak times, which is an increase of 358%.
Most egregious of all are the costs to visit Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral. Both of these attractions were entirely free in 1974, but these days, they cost £29 and £25 a ticket.
How else have holidays changed in 50 years?
To mark 50 years of Which? Travel, the researchers conducted a deep dive into how our holidaying habits have changed in the past half a century, focussing on the costs.
The data revealed a flight to the Greek capital Athens in 1974 would have cost 313% more in real terms than it does today. In 1974 the average price was £80 (£723 when adjusted for inflation) compared to just £175 in August 2023.
Similarly, a flight to Rome, Italy was 238%more on average, costing £55 (£497 in today’s money) compared to £147 in August 2023.
But while today’s flight prices are cheaper than 1974, they are not as cheap as they were in the golden era of cheap flights, from the 90s onwards.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the average return flight from the UK to Europe cost just £123 in summer 2010 (£181 in today’s money), but had risen by 78% to £322 on average in 2023.
Flights are far from the only holiday element to become more expensive. In spite of greater competition today, the research found a package in the 70s or 80s was comparatively cheap.
In 1986 a week’s package on the Costa Blanca during the summer would cost £160, the equivalent of £456 at today’s prices (although the accommodation provided would not necessarily be the same quality as today – potentially just a bunk in a dorm!).
By 1991, a package, including two weeks half-board at an average hotel in the summer cost £450 per person in Spain (£986 at today’s prices), £507 per person in Italy (equivalent to £1,110 in today’s money), and £517 per person in Greece (equivalent to £1,132).
Packages today are much more expensive on average, with recent analysis by Which? finding that the average price of just a single week half-board in Spain this August would cost £995 per person – comparable to a two week break in the 90s. A week in Italy half-board would be £1,120 each, and in Greece it would be £1,257 each.
Car hire has seen wild fluctuations in recent years – rising sharply after the pandemic, when vehicle shortages meant many rental companies struggled to keep up with consumer demand. But surprisingly, it is still marginally cheaper to hire a car today than it was in decades gone by.
A week’s car hire in Spain in 1978 cost £84 on average, the equivalent of £438 in today’s money. During the peak prices witnessed last summer, a week’s car rental cost £339 in Alicante and £376 in Palma de Mallorca. Thankfully, prices have started to drop again.
Commenting on the research, Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘For decade after decade travel and holidays became cheaper and therefore accessible to more people, so it’s worrying to uncover a recent trend of prices increasing, often significantly so. A golden age of affordable flights witnessed in the 90s and early 2000s looks like it may now be a thing of the past.
‘The cost of a day out in particular has risen by astronomical amounts – with many of London’s most popular attractions charging entry fees that have far outpaced inflation and beyond the means of many people. There are still plenty of ways to keep costs down though – from shopping around and using comparison sites when booking a flight, to checking for online vouchers and schemes for cheaper attraction tickets.’
