- Holiday Hypermarket finds 25% of Brits take NO sun lotion abroad
- 91% of people don’t pack enough sun lotion for their holiday
- NHS recommends applying sun lotion five times each day
- A family of four should get through 12x 200ml bottles on a week’s holiday
British holidaymakers are ignoring NHS advice and not taking enough sunscreen abroad, with the extra cost of stocking up to meet NHS recommendations sometimes reaching more than £100 for a family of four.
A survey of 2,000 people by online travel agent Holiday Hypermarket revealed that Brits abroad are ignoring NHS sunscreen advice. 25% said they take no suntan lotion on their holiday and 44% take just one bottle per adult, well below NHS recommendations*.
The research shows that only 9% of families pack enough sun lotion to meet NHS guidelines, while 69% of families have to buy an extra eight bottles for a seven-night holiday.
How many bottles does the NHS recommend families take?
The Holiday Hypermarket survey found that 88% of respondents take two or fewer 200ml bottles of sun lotion on a week-long holiday. The NHS recommends that adults should take four bottles each for their trip, which is the amount required to apply the equivalent of two tablespoons of lotion five times each day. They recommend that sunscreen is applied twice before going out and after each swim.
What’s the cost of buying abroad?
If holidaymakers are looking to meet NHS guidelines, the Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer*** shows that they should buy before they fly. Britain is one of the cheapest places in Europe to buy a 200ml bottle of branded factor 15 suntan lotion, with an average price of £4.50.
This is far cheaper than many of our favourite holiday destinations. If a family bought their suntan lotion in Ibiza, they would pay an eye watering £17.45 per bottle. This means that if a family of four took four bottles for a one-week holiday, they would have to spend an extra £103 when compared with UK prices to buy eight more bottles. This would then allow them to meet NHS guidelines.
The table below shows the average cost of sun lotion in package holiday destinations across Europe, plus the extra cost of buying eight bottles in that destination compared to the UK.
| Location | One bottle: average cost for 200ml SPF15 branded sunscreen | Eight bottles: total cost of buying at holiday destination | Eight bottles: difference in cost compared to buying in UK |
| UK | £4.50 | £36 | n/a |
| IBIZA, Spain | £17.45 | £139.60 | £103.60 |
| HALKIDIKI, Greece | £13.15 | £105.20 | £69.20 |
| MAJORCA, Spain | £13.15 | £105.20 | £69.20 |
| LIMASSOL, Cyprus | £12.71 | £101.68 | £65.68 |
| ALICANTE, Spain | £12.28 | £98.24 | £62.24 |
| BENIDORM, Spain | £11.93 | £95.44 | £59.44 |
| SLIEMA, Malta | £11.51 | £92.08 | £56.08 |
| ZADAR, Croatia | £9.23 | £73.84 | £37.84 |
| POREC, Croatia | £7.29 | £58.32 | £22.32 |
| LISBON COAST, Portugal | £7.02 | £56.16 | £20.16 |
| MARMARIS, Turkey | £6.67 | £53.36 | £17.36 |
| CORFU, Greece | £6.31 | £50.48 | £14.48 |
| PAPHOS, Cyprus | £6.25 | £50.00 | £14.00 |
| CRETE, Greece | £6.14 | £49.12 | £13.12 |
| TORREMOLINOS, Spain | £4.82 | £38.56 | £2.56 |
| ALGARVE, Portugal | £3.94 | £31.52 | -£4.48 |
| SUNNY BEACH, Bulgaria | £2.34 | £18.72 | -£17.28 |
Craig Duncan of Holiday Hypermarket says: ‘Cost is one of the most important considerations for any holiday, yet Brits are underestimating the amount of sun cream they need and then wasting hundreds by stocking up abroad.
A British family can spend an eye-watering £200 to buy extra lotion for a two week holiday in Ibiza. That could easily cover a few delicious family meals, a room upgrade or new holiday clothes.
‘Buying enough sun cream at a supermarket in the UK is one of the most effective money-saving holiday hacks there is!’
See the infographic by Holiday Hypermarket below:
