Teenage tours to Israel will cost around 20 per cent more next year, news that has sparked shock and concern among parents already struggling with household costs.

Applications for the 2023 tours opened this week with the 12 youth movements and organisations offering them charging between just over £4,000 and £4,500 for the three-week programmes, an average increase of £800 on this year’s prices.

“We are horrified at the cost,” one mother told the JC. “We see the post-GCSE Israel trip as a rite of Jewish passage and desperately want our son to go, as his sister did before him.

“But we simply can’t afford it. My husband is a self-employed professional and we were hit badly by Covid. The thought of my son missing out is awful but that is what will take place.”

Her sentiments were echoed by a single mother with two children at Yavneh College.

“My daughter is going on a Year 9 trip to Israel that the school is organising and which costs £2,800,” she explained.“My finances might have improved by next summer but right now, there is no way I can also afford FZY’s tour fee of £4,500. And the deposit of £500 is non-refundable. That’s £500 I can’t afford to lose if it turns out he can’t go.”

At UJIA — which administers the Israel Experience programme — chief executive Mandie Winston said that it had “tried to keep costs as low as possible”.

However, “global rises in the cost of living, including in Israel, and the fall of the pound against the dollar and the shekel have had a significant impact, particularly on ground costs such as accommodation”.

To help families struggling to meet the cost, UJIA has launched a new bursary scheme, the Access Israel Fund.

“There will be £1 million in the fund for families over the next two years,” she said.

“We share parental concerns and understand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

“We fully anticipated a growth in demand for financial support this year and planned for it.”

In 2018, 2019 and 2022 (there were no tours in the pandemic years) more than one-in-six participants received UJIA bursaries with disbursements totalling £693,000. Youth organisations also run their own bursary schemes.

UJIA is additionally offering an interest-free loan for those “who feel they would benefit from a staggered payment system”, Ms Winston added.