Oil is currently around $110 a barrel, but yesterday Nick Reilly, president of General Motors Europe and chief executive of Vauxhall-Opel, predicted that it could soar to $170 within the next two years.
That could see petrol prices rising by up to 30p a litre, or an extra £1.36 a gallon.
At the Geneva Motor show yesterday, Mr Reilly said that even without a crisis cutting off supplies, the oil price could rise within two years to between $120 and $130 as the global economy recovers and drives up demand for fuel. This alone would see pump prices rise by up to 10p a litre or 45p a gallon.
Thomas Cook say the cost of jet fuel has gone up 40 per cent in a YEAR
Holiday expert Rochelle Turner, of Which? Travel, said: ‘In recent years, people have become used to taking two or three foreign breaks a year, but I think that is coming to an end. We may well see a return to just one fortnight overseas.