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Bloomberg
Britons risk pushing up the cost of their vacations if they vote to leave the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron said in his third warning in three days on how a so-called Brexit would hurt ordinary people in their pockets.
An average eight-night, four-person trip to an EU destination would cost an extra 230 pounds ($330), based on a projected 12 percent depreciation of the pound following a vote to leave the 28-nation EU, Cameron said in an e-mailed statement, citing a Treasury analysis.
Travelers outside the EU wouldn’t be spared: a two-week family trip to the U.S. would rise by 620 pounds, according to the statement. The prime minister went to the headquarters of Luton-based low-cost airline EasyJetPlc on Tuesday morning to speak to staff as part of his campaign.
“A weaker pound means people’s hard-earned savings won’t go as far on holidays overseas,†Cameron said. A vote to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum represents “a leap in the dark that would raise prices — including the cost of a family holiday,†he said.
Recession Forecast
On Sunday, Cameron released analysis predicting a Brexit would increase the annual grocery bill for a family of four by 220 pounds, while on Monday, the Treasury published a report predicting a yearlong recession in the event of a vote to leave.
As well as reducing the value of the pound, Brexit could jeopardize cheap flights between the U.K. and the continent, according to Tuesday’s statement. Britons could also lose out on the abolition of roaming charges for mobile-phone calls within the bloc that’s scheduled to be implemented in June 2017, Cameron’s office said.