A wise and humourous man once said that “A holiday is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
Holidays are little rays of light that look forward to a few weeks a year and enable us to get away from the dull monotony of work, annoying neighbours or endless rain.
With the credit crunch in full swing, many of us are tightening our belts and sticking to a budget to see us through.
However, one thing we are not not prepared to cut back on, is our holidays!
Yes, many of us would rather spend less on our everyday luxuries than deny ourselves an annual holiday, despite our fears of negative housing equity and our rising food, fuel and mortgage costs.
Apparently, only 2% of of us in Britain said we would think about not having a holiday in order to make ends meet.
What we would do though:
- 30% of us would give up dining out
- 30% would give up shopping for clothes or household items
- 14% would cut down on smoking or give up drinking at the pub
The survey, by travel company Kayak.co.uk, also found that, for 95% of us, having a holiday once a year is more important to our overall happiness than owning a home (73%), being in a relationship (63%), having a car (47%) or starting a family (42%).
Annie Wilson, business development director of Kayak.co.uk, said:
"As a nation, we've always been much more likely to explore the four corners of the earth than to buy the latest flat screen TV. Budget-conscious travellers willing to be flexible and spend time researching dates and destinations can still find the perfect trip at the right price."
Travelling further afield than Europe (especially to places that trade in the U.S. dollar) can also help our us make our pounds go further, they added.
So, are you still going to take a holiday despite the current financial strain? Or are you having to cut back?
Why not let us know?