Cheap package holidays

[Lyanna Stark]

Because Relic needs something to read today! :grouphug: :P

Instead of derailing the last thread, it might be an idea to take the discussion of cheap package holidays elsewhere than the Greece thread, so here it is! From the last thread.

Nah, most people who go there from northern/western Europe are only concerned with a cheap package holiday where they have a pre-booked flight, and a pre-booked bus to the hotel where they have pre-booked rooms and often pre-booked meals. They go for the sun (the weather here is dodgy) and the booze and to spend a week or two away from the grind. They are often minimally interested in the fact that there is often a whole interesting country outside of their hotel swimming pool. Potentially they might go to the beach or go shopping, but that is generally about it. I know, cos I come from an area of white middle class to low middle class and this is de jeur. This goes for package holidays to locations like Mallorca, the Canary islands or Crete, as well as quite a few Turkish locations, mainly Antalya for Scandinavians (cos God forbid you'd have to mingle with other nationalities!! Oh and it is so inconvenient to not have the restaurant menus in your own language, natch).

While I personally would never do something like this, it is extremely common. I used to express bafflement at this behaviour which made people think I was an elitist.

You speak for most people? I know plenty of people going to Turkey to explore the glories of Istanbul and the richness of its culture.

Aside from that, the poster i was replying to made it seem like Turkey has been a dangerous destination for years, and that people valued cheap tour packages to safety. Which is absurd.

I'm sure there are plenty of people that do go to Turkey to experience the culture, and the further away people are coming from the more likely that is to be, but I don't think individual anecdotes necessarily challenge that the bulk of the money in tourism comes from nearby Europeans going there for their sunny holiday. Both these things coexisting is possible.

Package holidays are an interesting phenomenon. Online articles also confirm my experience of living in a country and an area where package holidays reign supreme. Around 2005 and a bit later, trends were more towards do it yourself holidays, while now it is back to the way it was again with people going a week to the sun, and that's that. UK statistics seem to confirm that nearly 50% of all holidays are package holidays. Given that Scandinavians are even more keen on the sun, I would not be surprised if our numbers skew even higher.

You can also find that this is tied to social class too. Lower middle class will generally take the "value" package holidays to the sun for some cheap grade 1 burns and cheaper booze, while the middle class will want to impress with their destination, going for something less declasse (sorry for the shite link btw).

I live in local hillbilly-land :P so the package holidaymakers are my neighbours, colleagues etc. While I personally cannot see the appeal (and would much rather go see ancient ruins, amazing nature or just stroll) it's undoubtedly extremely popular. I am absolutely certain that a lot of people go to Turkey to experience the culture, but I am convinced more people go to Turkey for cheap package holidays where they rarely, if ever, leave the hotel grounds.

Personally I really loathe package holidays, and the only one I've been on was frustrating since I got bored after 2 days (ran out of books), but I also can't fault people for liking them either. Especially now when we've had a terribly cold spring and early summer, the package holiday sales have soared. People want some sun, and to lie flat on their backs, in the sun, with no rain, for a week. And I can't say I really blame them.

With regards to security, since we are talking trips for people who might save up all year, or longer than that, to go on these holidays, plus often bring their kids, then security concerns are important. Whether valid or not. However, I am not sure people in Northern/Western Europe are generally well informed what goes in locally in their holiday destinations, unless it's been in the national press for whatever reason.

Right? Wrong? Do you hate package holidays? Love them? Always go on them?

[Free Northman Reborn]

Going off the beaten track in Turkey is no problem. If you're Liam Neesan, that is.

Jokes aside, my brother and his wife are backpacking there right now. My father's advice to him was that he doesn't let her go to the bathroom alone lest she gets kidnapped.

Had a good chuckle over that. Also about how she has to cover those evil knees if she is walking in public, apparently.

Lastly, I told him that if he ventures to the southern parts he better only look like a "tourist" in the context of John Rambo's discussion with the Pakistani arms smuggler in Rambo 3.

All of the above, lighthearted as it is, is meant to convey that I don't like travelling too much. I like familiar environments. An island holiday lying in a resort for a week - wonderfully relaxing.

Having to navigate through environments where I am exposed to too much risk and uncertainty - not so much.

[Jon AS]

Right? Wrong? Do you hate package holidays? Love them? Always go on them?

I think you covered the ins and outs of package holidays pretty well. I'd guess that Relic isn't as aware of the phenomenon as he neither lives in a place where people travel in this fashion (though my knowledge of how USians spend their vacation time is rather limited) and when he travels he doesn't hang out in all-inclusive hotels on the Turkish Riviera.

I'd add that, as far as I know, these package deals usually come with at least an option to do something other than spend all day at the beach or the pool, like a day trip to a local archeological site or Bazaar (the latter is something a Morocco-born friend of mine likes to compare to visiting a department store in Germany...), but the main appeal to these vacations appears to be the ability to soak up lots of sun on the cheap.

Personally I have no interest in this form of travel, and if I never go on such a trip I'll be perfectly happy (I think the only thing I view with more apprehension is a cruise). The closest I've come to that was a vacation in Sardinia with my mother and older sister, but there I stayed in a separate hotel (where I did nothing except sleep and have breakfast) and I'd pick them up every day and we'd drive to different places in a rental car. I left a week earlier than them and, as she was apprehensive of driving on the mountainous roads, my mother opted to not keep the car. This lead to them being pretty bored for the second half of their vacation.

[Prue]

The classic beach package holidays hold no appeal whatsoever for me, either. Mainly because I find beach holidays extremely boring though. One hour at the beach would be enough for me. However, there are also package deals for destinations where you can mainly go sightseeing instead, and those are unbeatably cheap. E.g. I went to Malta for a week for a price I would have paid for either the flight or the hotel alone if I had booked individually. Many hotels charge ridiculous prices if you're an individual traveler (or they charge far too low prices in a package deal, however you may see it).

[Filippa Eilhart]

I just read an interesting article about holiday trends in Poland. Basically it's what Lyanna said -- people care about the price and the sun. They also disregard (or are unaware of) how safe a given region is. Apparently Egypt became extremely popular after it was declared "unsafe" because the holiday prices plummeted.

Here's the article, in Polish.

[Lummel]

I just read an interesting article about holiday trends in Poland. Basically it's what Lyanna said -- people care about the price and the sun. They also disregard (or are unaware of) how safe a given region is. Apparently Egypt became extremely popular after it was declared "unsafe" because the holiday prices plummeted.

Here's the article, in Polish.

I would agree with this completely, my Sister went with a friend to Egypt in the middle of the Arab spring protests, but since she stayed in a red sea resort had a completely peaceful time. She has form in this regard - she was intending to go to Thailand on honeymoon when there was near civil war between red shirts and yellow shirts. I eventually managed to persuade her that this was unwise so instead she and her new husband went to Indonesia where they got bullied by the local monkeys demanding treats. My suspicion is that the population is divided between the worried and the oblivious!

[Hoppy Hour]

I've never had much interest in package holidays, and the only time I went on one I was bored to death.

[Relic]

Lol, thanks Lyanna for starting a thread on my (least favorite) topic =p

So, I'll just say that I'm well aware of packaged tours and vacations, and i know that they are indeed very popular with a certain type of traveler/tourist. The first article i ever had published was on this topic. It focused on all inclusive resorts in Mexico's Yucatan, and why they sucked, basically (i cringe reading it, due to how poorly written it is, hopefully my writing has evolved a bit since then).

http://matadornetwork.com/change/tourism-destroyed-mexicos-yucatan-coast/

(the editors changed my original title "The Exclusion of All Inclusive Resorts" to something far more click bait-ey)

The type of tourist that buys packed tours does, indeed, make up a large number of the demographic. But far, far, far from all travelers prefer to visit a new location in this fashion. I don;t see anything wrong with vacationing in that way, since it's literally the only way someone people can afford to do it, or know HOW to do it. However, i think it usually leads to a lack of immersion, and a "cookie cutter" experience. To each their own, as long as they travel with respect for their destination and it's peoples.

edit - im super hung over, typing is hard.

[Deedles]

I've gone on several package hols and enjoyed them. Went to Turkey for a week with my Mum about nine years ago. Lots of laying around by the pool reading and imbibing the odd cocktail. Visited Ephesis twice though, and went for a lovely walk up the hills/mountain where there is a shrine to Mary. Went to Tunisia ten years ago, and went on a two day trip into the Sahara. Wonderful watching sunrise and sunset in the desert. Been to the Algarve twice off season. Again, trips out two or three days.

When I was younger (and earned a pittance) it was cheaper to fly abroad and stay in a four star hotel with breakfast included than to take the bus around my home and stay in B&Bs. Food and drink were hugely cheaper abroad.

We also went on a few when I was a child /early teen and they were brilliant. Sunny enough to swim in outside pools. My parents willing and able to spend time with us due to no chores / jobs etc. games of tennis and races on the beach. Fabulous. Some of my best memories.

They are very affordable ways to travel and they are what you make them.

[Deedles]

Double

[HairBearHero]

I think a large part of the appeal of package holidays is for people with children, particularly younger ones. I was fortunate enough to grow up with parents both interested and wealthy enough to do a lot of travelling, but we still did a few package holidays when my brother and I were younger simply because it's a low-hassle style of holidaying. Most package resorts also have some form of kid's club, which gives the youngsters a chance to do fun stuff with other children and lets the parents collapse in a puddle next to the pool for the morning and recharge so they can spend time as a family in the afternoon/evenings.

Don't personally see the appeal now - would much rather get out and about and book stuff myself, but appreciate that it's a lot more effort and commitment and can be more expensive.

[Xray the Enforcer]

To answer the OP: I would never willingly go on a package holiday. The thought of sitting on my arse in some hypercontrolled environment for days on end is just...nope.

[Iskaral Pust]

I went on my only package holiday for my 21st birthday to Gran Canaria for a week of night clubbing and debauchery with slightly less trashy people than Ibiza. It was a blast although once was enough.

Americans go on package holidays all the time, usually to the Carribbean or Mexico and usually not in summer. These are slightly more middle class than the working-to-middle class package holidays for Northern Europeans but still mainly involve an all-inclusive resort, a lot of time by the pool and just a few day trips to local sights. Americans don't usually buy them as a package though - flights are usually separate - and they cost much more here but for higher quality hotels and resorts. Spring break trips to party destinations are pretty equivalent to the package holidays for 18-25 yr olds to Ibiza or similar.

We went to a resort in Puerto Rico and a couple of times in Hawaii. Not necessarily package holidays but resort holidays can be just as narrow unless you also rent a car and go out and do something. My wife goes stir crazy by the pool so I don't have much choice on that.

[deleted01]

We only ever went on holiday to Cornwall, but my parents would always stay in some kind of resort that had a bunch of activities for kids. I can see the allure - pack the kids off for the day and spend some time by yourselves - but I always hated it. I stopped going on holiday with them when I was 13.

I've never done it since being an adult - the first time I went abroad, I stayed with a friend and her family in Belgium. That was a fantastic experience, one I wouldn't change for the world. The second time, my SO and I stayed with forum friends, which again was brilliant, and fairly cheap.

For the future, I suppose it depends on how much money I have, and how safe I feel in the country, but I'd much rather experience the country and the culture properly, than sit by the pool at a hotel surrounded by drunken Brits.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

We used to rent a place on Martha's Vineyard when I was a little boy but my sister developed allergies to the trees so we started going to Vermont. We went to an all inclusive resort in the Bahamas when I was six but that was the only time we went to a place like that.

[Isis]

Thanks, Lyanna, for explaining in detail what I didn't have time to express in full at the time of posting in the other thread (which I will not further derail). It is precisely as you say - many people do not care what country they are in so long as it is hot and cheap and ideally has a beach (if not, then a pool will certainly suffice). They aren't fussed about eating local food or seeing the local sights. These people do not actually even care which country they are in so culture is irrelevant to them. (this is why I didn't feel the need to point out that obviously plenty of people do visit Turkey for cultural interest reasons)

I was thinking that events like this or this or these have not put off anyone I know from having a cheap holiday.

I just read an interesting article about holiday trends in Poland. Basically it's what Lyanna said -- people care about the price and the sun. They also disregard (or are unaware of) how safe a given region is. Apparently Egypt became extremely popular after it was declared "unsafe" because the holiday prices plummeted.

Here's the article, in Polish.

Funny you should say that, Flip, because after Turkey the other place which springs to mind immediately when I think of people persisting in going to for cheap holidays despite a perceived increased threat of danger was Egypt.

[Kat]

I haven't done any package tours, but I can understand the appeal. Usually by the time spring break rolls around, I'm so tired of planning everyday logistics that I could totally use a week at a tropical beach without having to figure anything out on my own. Ideally my work-life balance would be better, but oh well.

[S John]

Generally, I'd prefer to have a do-it-yourself experience.

I might get a little antsy if I did a full week at an all-inclusive type place, but for a 4-ish day vacation all-inclusive actually sounds pretty good. Especially if it was a beach destination. I could happily spend 2 or 3 of those days on the beach, probably drinking fruity drinks with little umbrellas, and then maybe schedule to go scuba diving one of the days to break it up.

[ElizabethB.]

Depends on what sort of package and how cheap, if I was ever let in to an all inclusive beach resort with food and drinks I approve of, beach, pool, gym and hiking area, I would never go home.

[Dr. Pepper]

The first time I traveled solo, I booked a package holiday. I was in college and it was a bitter winter and I was pretty sure I'd go mad if I didn't see some sun so on a whim I booked a holiday to Jamaica for spring break. No one else was able to go and I really did want to see what it was like to travel by myself so I went. It was sooo fucking boring. I ended up spending way more money in order to do other stuff outside of the resort because the beach is super boring after an hour or two, especially by yourself. I still like traveling solo but I discovered I'm not the sort to find sitting on a beach fun at all.