Brits who racked up hefty roaming charges whilst browsing the web on holiday last year were hit with a total bill of £112 million, reports telegraph.co.uk.
Conducted on 1,000 British holidaymakers, a poll from travel operators Thompson and First Choice shows the average Brit’s phone bill increasing by £20 when they take a trip away.
One in ten saw their statement rise by as much as £50, while almost a third said they were dealt with a shocking rise of £200 or more.
Roaming charges was listed as the main reason behind the additional spend, with three quarters of holidaymakers naming this as the reason for their bill increasing.
What the study also exposed was a lack of effort on the group’s part to find a way of using the internet in a more cost-effective manner.
A total of 69 per cent of travellers said they’d spend more time on their mobile device while abroad if only they didn’t incur additional charges. This comes despite the fact that many foreign hotels, restaurants and bars now have free Wi-Fi hotspots installed at their premises.
Back in 2012 Telegraph Travel highlighted that two thirds of hotels charged for Wi-Fi access, but the publication says that several high-profile luxury hotels have scrapped their charges since coming under fire.
As reported by digitalspy.co.uk, the EU’s proposal to scrap all roaming charges across Europe had been scheduled to take place in 2014, only to have been shelved until at least 2017.
