Parents of Manchester! Don’t spend Freshers’ Week suffering from empty nest syndrome after packing your child off to university, join the thousands of couples who have whipped out their bikinis and suntan lotion to travel abroad.
As their children revel in their new found independence, there is a growing trend in their parents doing exactly the same thing – and MM can reveal that the craze is taking off most in Manchester.
Steve Heapy, Chief Executive Officer of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, told MM that there has been 8,500 adult-only holidays booked from Manchester over the next month. That is an huge increase of 80% compared to this time last year and is double that of the of national average.
Dropping the children off at halls of residence obviously injected some spontaneity into the over 45s as more than half of these holidays were booked last minute.
The new £9,000 a year tuition fees have proved a small price to pay for parents seeking to make the most of their first concerted spell of alone time for many years.
Mr Heapy said: “Seeing your children off to university is a significant time for all parents so it’s not surprising that an increasing number are using their new found freedom to indulge in some kid-free capers.”
One relieved parent, Mrs. Watson, 51, from Bramhall, said that waiting for her son’s A-level results and then sending him off to university made for a stressful summer and the last-minute deal proved to be just the tonic.
She said: “This is the first time we’ve been away without our children and we’re really looking forward to having a bit of time to ourselves.
“The fact that our holiday is outside of the summer period means we get a better deal too – its win-win!”
Cyprus, Tenerife and Portugal have proved to be the top destinations for over 45s seeking to relax and revisit their youth and with temperatures reaching highs of 80 degrees Fahrenheit in some resorts, Mr Heapy said that parents are going to have a far sunnier Freshers’ Week than their kids.
Picture courtesy of Salfalko via Flickr, with thanks.
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