Brexit would make vacations pricier for Britons, Cameron says

[LONDON] 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 (S$455), based on a projected 12 per cent depreciation of the pound following a vote to leave the 28-nation EU, Mr 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 US would rise by 620 pounds, according to the statement.

"A weaker pound means people's hard-earned savings won't go as far on holidays overseas," Mr 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.

With just over four weeks to go before the referendum, Mr Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne have shrugged off accusations of scaremongering by the official Vote Leave campaign in a series of reports and speeches outlining the government's view that Britain is "stronger, safer and better off in Europe."

On Sunday, Mr 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 UK 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, Mr Cameron's office said, enlisting comment supportive of a "Remain" vote from Vodafone Group Plc chief executive officer Vittorio Colao, BT Group Plc CEO Gavin Patterson and EasyJet Plc CEO Carolyn McCall.

"For EasyJet and our passengers membership of the EU has been a good thing," Ms McCall said.

"The common aviation area created by the EU allows any European airline to fly anywhere in Europe. This has kept all airlines' costs low and has enabled low-fares airlines like EasyJet to expand."

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