Dismissing the weekly headlines that have heralded the demise of cheap holidays has been easy, until now.

Last week Britain’s two largest tour operators, TUI Travel and Thomas Cook PLC, which take some 11 million of us on holiday each year, announced that holidays would cost more from now on.

TUI, which includes the brands First Choice and Thomson, confirmed that holidays would be 7 per cent more expensive this winter and 12 per cent higher next summer. Thomas Cook similarly confirmed price rises of 7 per cent this year and expected prices to be up 8 per cent next summer.

The destination most affected by price rises this winter is France, according to TUI, with average holiday prices up 15 per cent year-on-year.

The impact will be felt by skiers, who are facing one of the most expensive seasons in recent years. The strong Euro will make any cash purchases, such as meals on the mountain, equipment hire and lift passes, more expensive for British skiers, and added to that, lift pass prices are up across Europe this year.

Wintersun breaks to destinations such as the Canaries, Egypt and the Caribbean will be more expensive this year, in part, due to the collapse of XL Leisure on September 12. When Britain’s third largest tour operator folded, it took a huge chunk of the holiday market with it – so there are 7 per cent fewer holidays on sale since its demise.

It’s not just reduced capacity that’s making holidays more expensive. Inflation, a weak Sterling and the high cost of fuel are all playing their part.

BA now adds £242 to the cost of a return long-haul flight to cover its fuel bills, and despite a dip in oil prices, won’t reduce the charge. Virgin, likewise, won’t cut its surcharge, blaming market volatility.

The price rises have led Abta, the Association of British Travel Agents, to warn consumers that the glut of last-minute cut-price holidays that flood the market every August will wither. The message is, don’t wait hoping to get a bargain.

There’s more change afoot – searching the web for a cheap hotel or villa and flights has become the norm for many of us in recent years, but our buying habits could be changing.

Travel journalists have, for years, been dutifully informing their readers about the dangers of booking a holiday independently, which isn’t Atol protected, but it’s only when a catastrophic collapse such as that of XL takes place, that consumers take heed.

While many of the holidaymakers who booked with XL were protected by the Atol scheme, some were not because they booked flights independently, and it’s these scare stories, of hundreds of pounds going down the drain, that has made consumers and travel companies jittery.

Abta reported a doubling of Atol enquiries in the weeks after the XL collapse from travel companies keen to sign up – commenting on the surge of interest, Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “In the current volatile climate customers are looking for the reassurance and confidence that booking with an Abta travel expert will bring.”

Industry commentators haven’t gone as far as saying people will stay at home next year – the British weather tends to put the dampners on that. But it’s the shoulder season holidays that could suffer. Thinking twice about that autumn Paris city break, or the half-term trip to the Canaries in February?

I’m even looking into booking a bonded summer holiday next summer – having consistently failed to practice what I preach over the importance of buying Atol-protected holidays, I might finally be taking my own advice.

I’m thinking of taking a longer holiday next year – two whole weeks in Greece, instead of four mini-breaks I took this year that sent my carbon footprint through the roof, lined the pockets of Michael O’Leary, and clocked up hours of dreary airport traipsing.

It’s back to the good old days of the long summer holiday - the 14-night break that the travel industry had all but given up on once low-cost airlines took over and we all forgot what a free inflight meal looked like.

It's going to be strange. I might actually get to wear all of my flip-flops and sarongs; I definitely cannot forget to switch on my out-of-office, the milk will most definitely be off if I don't empty the fridge, and I might even get a noticeable tan – perhaps it’s not such a bad thing after all.

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