How the crowd score works
The crowd score tells you how much school-holiday demand bears on a travel window from every direction that matters. It is not just a UK figure. It combines three signals: the share of UK school councils on holiday, whether schools at your destination are on holiday, and the term dates of the other nationalities most likely to be visiting at the same time, weighted by real international tourism data. A week where every market is in term time scores near 0%. A week where the UK, France, and Germany are all simultaneously on summer break scores near 100%.
The scale
The warm paper tone on the left marks the quietest weeks. The bar turns blue as more schools break up. Most of the year sits well below 50%.
What the number means in practice
Term time, e.g. mid-September
All four nations back in school. Quietest roads of the year. Resorts, airports, and theme parks at their least busy. Prices typically at their lowest.
Scotland off, England still in term
Scotland breaks one to two weeks before England. Some rise in family travel, but most UK families are still at home. Noticeably quieter than a UK-wide holiday week.
UK-wide half-term, e.g. October
Most UK schools off at once. Hotels and family attractions price to match. Busy, but not at summer levels.
Summer peak, e.g. first two weeks of August
Virtually all UK schools on summer holiday. Maximum family travel demand. Prices at their highest. Popular destinations at full capacity.
Three layers, one score
When you pick a destination, the score combines all three signals:
- UK school-holiday demand: the percentage of all 218 UK councils on holiday that week, across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
- Destination school-holiday demand: the percentage of schools on holiday in the country you’re visiting. If Spanish or French schools are off, expect more families at the resort regardless of UK timing.
- Source market demand: the term dates of the other nationalities most likely to be there, weighted by Eurostat data on who actually visits each country. Spain’s biggest source markets include Germany and France. If German and French schools are also off, the destination is busy from multiple directions at once.
The result: a single percentage that reflects real school-holiday demand. Not just whether you can travel, but whether the destination will actually be quiet when you arrive.
Who feeds the score
The UK and Germany are source markets for France, Spain, and Italy at once - a summer break in any of those countries adds demand everywhere they visit. France is itself a source market for Spain. Belgium and the USA are more specific: Belgium mainly affects France, the USA mainly affects Italy.
Examples with a destination
These three examples show how the combined score differs from UK-only.
September · France
Schools in the UK and in all of France's major visitor countries are back in term. The quietest window of the year from every direction.
Late June · France
Most UK schools still running but schools in several of France's major visitor countries have broken for summer. Resorts fill from multiple markets despite low UK demand.
October half-term · Spain
UK families are travelling but Spain has no October half-term, and neither do most of Spain's other major visitor countries. Destination demand stays low.
The data
UK figures are drawn from 218 local authority council calendars across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, sourced from official council and government publications. Nothing is estimated. Destination figures use national school calendar data from official education ministry publications.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have different term dates to England, so the UK % on any given day reflects the real mix across all four nations.
English academy schools can set their own term dates, so your school may differ from the council average. Confirm your specific dates before booking. Dates last verified August 2026.