• Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
No Result
View All Result
UK Herald
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Sports
    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • food
    • Health
    • Travel
    Gigantic £777,577,500 cruise ship with record-breaking water park to launch from UK

    Gigantic £777,577,500 cruise ship with record-breaking water park to launch from UK

    British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

    British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

    The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

    The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

    I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

    I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

    The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

    The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

    ‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

    ‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

    I’ll never go on another slum tour after speaking to a local

    I’ll never go on another slum tour after speaking to a local

    This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

    This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

    The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

    The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

    Wizz Air launches 5 new Spanish routes from the UK – but not everyone is happy

    Wizz Air launches 5 new Spanish routes from the UK – but not everyone is happy

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Sports
  • More
    • Press Release
UK Herald
No Result
View All Result

The London tourist attractions that have seen the biggest price hikes revealed

by Justin Marsh
March 19, 2024
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterReddit


Big Ben and Westminster Bridge in London at sunrise
Which? discovered some surprising trends (Picture: Getty Images)

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

Tower of London
In 1974, a trip to the Tower of London was just 10p (Picture: Getty Images)

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.

Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey used to cost nothing at all (Picture: Getty Images)

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%.



Latest London news

  • M25’s first-ever daytime closure sparks two-mile tailbacks
  • Sadiq Khan will send out ‘love letters’ to voters ahead of mayoral elections
  • Man shot in neck with crossbow days after woman was targeted

To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro.co.uk’s London news hub.

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. 

England,London,Kew Gardens,Palm House and flowerbeds
The cost to visit Kew Gardens has risen by 26,566% since 1974 (Picture: Getty Images)
Giraffe
Taken outside the giraffe enclosure in London Zoo. (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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.’



Source link

Related Posts

Gigantic £777,577,500 cruise ship with record-breaking water park to launch from UK

Gigantic £777,577,500 cruise ship with record-breaking water park to launch from UK

by Justin Marsh
August 26, 2025
0

There are two huge new cruise ships on the horizon (Picture: Carnival Cruise Line) Immersive music venues, food-truck style delis, smokehouses, mini golf, six water slides, and an on-board game show experience....

British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

by Justin Marsh
August 23, 2025
0

The First Lounge is light and airy, with runway views (Picture: Stuart Bailey) Iced lemon water. Plush sofas. Scented towels. No, I hadn’t walked into a spa, but rather British Airways’ first-class...

The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

by Justin Marsh
August 20, 2025
0

Málaga offers some of the most affordable flights and from there, you can reach destinations like Estepona (Picture: Shutterstock) If you’re looking for a last-minute summer getaway, then good news — you...

I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

by Justin Marsh
August 17, 2025
0

Even if you’ve never heard of Pikes, you probably know about it (Picture: James Christiansen) Metro Checks In to Pikes Ibiza, an institution of the infamous ‘White Isle’ that is as famous...

The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

by Justin Marsh
August 14, 2025
0

It’s a pretty unexpected sight (Picture: Getty/Alex Michie) It’s no secret that there are some pretty scenic train routes around the UK, showcasing everything from rugged Scottish countryside to the stunning Cornish...

‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

by Justin Marsh
August 11, 2025
0

With record-breaking airline traffic and cruise ship calls, Madeira is having a moment (Picture: Getty Images) With over 1,660 flights scheduled to land in Madeira in August alone, it’s clear that this...

Next Post

ChampLife: The Network of Elias Haralambidis and Nino Haralambidis 

Popular News

Bid to win a mini piece of top gear tv history

Bid to win a mini piece of top gear tv history

August 26, 2025
Gigantic £777,577,500 cruise ship with record-breaking water park to launch from UK

Gigantic £777,577,500 cruise ship with record-breaking water park to launch from UK

August 26, 2025
Wired says ‘AI-written’ story did not have ‘proper fact-check process’

Wired says ‘AI-written’ story did not have ‘proper fact-check process’

August 25, 2025
Rock and Rolls: £ 500k Phantom Takes a Plunge in Swimming Pool

Rock and Rolls: £ 500k Phantom Takes a Plunge in Swimming Pool

August 23, 2025
British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

August 23, 2025
Fear during space mission but you have a trusted team behind you- Shubhanshu Shukla

Fear during space mission but you have a trusted team behind you- Shubhanshu Shukla

August 21, 2025
Toyota BZ4X Electric SUV Prices Cut to £ 36,995

Toyota BZ4X Electric SUV Prices Cut to £ 36,995

August 20, 2025
UK Herald

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK

Important Links

  • Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise

...

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Food

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK