Why do people want to go on holidays abroad this summer? (Not travel to family)

[WombatChocolate]

Given we have put in huge efforts to reduce the virus in this country over many months, I struggle why people (not the holiday industry) are so keen to whizz off for a couple of weeks of sun, when we know the virus is surging in parts of the world.

What is this about?

The only thing I can think of which makes any sense to me is that they have already booked, or had a booking carried forward from last year and fear losing the money. Somehow they would rather go than sacrifice the money and that has led to large numbers wanting to go.

We all know that mutants will come into the country through travel and it’s impossible to keep them out, so why do people want to go so much?

Is it that they just love a sunny holiday so much they don’t think about the possible consequences? Is it that they do t want to lose the money? Is it that they are jabbed and so don’t believe their travel can have any consequences? Is it that they don’t know about levels of virus around the world? Or is it that because the holiday industry wants to open up (very understandably) they have been influenced by them?

I really understand people who have family abroad, how difficult the travel issue is for them and I do understand why they want to go and often feel they must go. I’m not asking about that. It’s just the standard holiday I’m interested in, because I don’t really get it.

Anyone who has thoughts about it, or is keen to go and feels like saying why.....many thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Everyone deserves a holiday

Agreed. Shall we fund them through tax increases or donations? Probably best a bit of both. How to organise it? Vouchers at food banks? Direct cash sum? Anyone else have ideas?

I would literally go to Tenerife tomorrow
Can’t wait to be back

No they are not charities, but have received government money for furlough and other financial support as businesses - which will be paid for many years by tax payers.

@Tealightsandd

People here believe holidays are essential for mental wellbeing? In that case, we urgently need to set up a welfare fund for the many people living in poverty who can't afford annual holidays.

It would definitely lift the spirits after queuing in food banks to feed their families.

I'm happy for some of my tax money to be used for it (post pandemic). Anyone else? Judging by the posts arguing passionately why a need for foreign holiday is more important than pandemic precautions, I assume you'll all be with me.

Why wait for someone else to set up a fund?

Why not do it yourself, right now? Why not donate every spare penny you spend on anything which isn't absolutely 'essential' to life? Because you are such a kind, caring, responsible person.

You could make a point of ensuring all your money went to those working in the travel industry, since you seem quite happy for them to be out of work indefinitely.

I've got it! A holiday tax. Pay for yours and pay for theirs.

We aren’t going away this year mainly because of cost. We were going to have a short holiday in this country but having seen the prices we have decided to save the money and go abroad next year.

We were looking at renting an Airbnb somewhere by the coast and it was double the price of the Airbnb that we rented in the Hollywood Hills and they were smaller places as well.

@Poppystars

No they are not charities, but have received government money for furlough and other financial support as businesses - which will be paid for many years by tax payers.

Not all of them. And that by no means means they should not charge what the market will bear.

Because we promised our dcs that we were going to go on a 'sunshine' holiday last summer and couldn't. Ds1 is 15 and won't want to come on holiday with us for much longer. We've done plenty of U.K. camping and holiday cottage holidays during his lifetime but only been abroad once and we can now afford it.
We still more than likely won't because of fucking covid and Dh's anxiety but that's why I want to.

@Poppystars

No they are not charities, but have received government money for furlough and other financial support as businesses - which will be paid for many years by tax payers.

Lots of people have received govt support though. And the supports received by those in the tourism industry don't come close to compensating for the losses they have racked up in a year of almost no business.

When demand increases, it's normal for prices to increase too. That's how businesses work. As someone said above, hotels etc are not charities. They're businesses which have been forbidden to trade for the best part of a year.

@Frequentflier

I have family-including a daughter- and a second home abroad. I cancelled my trip to go see them this summer because I thought it would be irresponsible, and I might carry back a variant ( though I will be fully vaccinated by then). I may change my mind after reading this thread.

There's nothing in this world that would stop me seeing immediate family a second time. And owning a second home abroad and needing to maintain it is even now a reason to travel. The fuck I'd 'stay home' in that setting. We're travelling to see immediate family abroad.

We went abroad last summer, and hope to go this one too. We look forward to it every year and it's the only time we really properly decompress from all the stress.

Surely as long as you travel by car to the airport/eurotunnel and back again, and quarantine for 2 weeks when you get back (which we also did very strictly last year) then there's almost no risk of you spreading anything on your return?

@IcedPurple
So it's ok for people in all the many other industries hit by the pandemic to be out of work for even longer?

I'm not a 1 percenter. My money wouldn't fund holidays for every family and individual unable to afford one! My tax could contribute towards it though. I'll write to my MP to suggest a holiday tax

I assume others here will support the idea, seeing as they strongly believe holidays are essential.

Don't you want to help make sure everyone can have one?

@osbertthesyrianhamster Unfortunately my family is in India:) You can see why I am hesitating. May be on the red list any day, and rightfully so. I will wait and see how things turn out.

[quote Tealightsandd]@IcedPurple
So it's ok for people in all the many other industries hit by the pandemic to be out of work for even longer?

I'm not a 1 percenter. My money wouldn't fund holidays for every family and individual unable to afford one! My tax could contribute towards it though. I'll write to my MP to suggest a holiday tax

I assume others here will support the idea, seeing as they strongly believe holidays are essential.

Don't you want to help make sure everyone can have one?[/quote]
You're clearly one of those MNers who gets irrationally angry at the thought of people enjoying travel, and feels incredibly smug because the last time they had a holiday was a week in Weston Super Mare when they were 8.

Nobody said they were 'essential'. Obviously they are not. However, for many people they are an important part of life, as well of course as providing employment for thousands of people. Your bad sarcasm and rage doesn't change any of that.

Most people are not virologists, or statisticians, or economists, or psychologists, or sociologists, or vaccine researchers, or doctors, or nurses, or philosophers, etc, and absolutely no single individual on the planet is an expert on coronavirus and absolutely everything that is affected by our responses to coronavirus. Nobody has all the answers. Besides which, there is not one single, correct way of responding to coronavirus, anyway, just a mass of possible choices which all interact unpredictably with each other, and no way of knowing for certain what the short, medium and long term consequences of every single action or inaction taken at an individual or societal or global level will be. As a result, if those with the power to decide, decide that holidays will be allowed this summer if certain criteria are met, then some people who can meet those criteria will decide to take a holiday. You don’t have to join them, and the issue is too complex to be able to condemn them en masse as reckless or immoral just because they have made different calculations to you. You can stay home and complain that other people won’t behave as you want them to all you like, but it won’t change their behaviour and it won’t make you happy, either, and you definitely won’t have a refreshing and enjoyable summer if you spend the whole time complaining that other people won’t behave as you want them to.

@Tealightsandd

I've got it! A holiday tax. Pay for yours and pay for theirs.

Now, now, we all know there will be something in the non-holiday maker's life which isn't "essential", but they certainly won't be giving it up in protest until all suffering is eliminated.

Down with garden centres! Close the libraries! Fence the public domain! Silence the orchestras! Drain the pools! Burn the paint brushes!

Remind me to buy more shares in hair shirts, my fortune beckons.

Because our wonderful, regular family holiday in France would cost £1800 for 18 nights for 4 people but a shorty static caravan is £2k for a week in rainy South Wales.

@Bramshott

We went abroad last summer, and hope to go this one too. We look forward to it every year and it's the only time we really properly decompress from all the stress.

Surely as long as you travel by car to the airport/eurotunnel and back again, and quarantine for 2 weeks when you get back (which we also did very strictly last year) then there's almost no risk of you spreading anything on your return?

Possibly if we restricted it to private cars only (so no public transport to and from the airport) AND people stuck to the quarantine at home to include all household members (with government checks because lots don't comply). That might be a good compromise for this year.

properly decompress from all the stress
I genuinely think a holiday tax (just a small sum) would be a good idea. So many people have lost their jobs this year and others were struggling well before Covid. I think a holiday welfare fund would be great, especially for families with young children and the disabled. They have so much misery and so little joy in their lives. Ive been thinking about it since yesterday. It's all these threads that got me thinking.

Is it that they just love a sunny holiday so much they don’t think about the possible consequences?

But you could apply this logic to everything and therefore do nothing. Ever. Ever again. No cinema, visiting friends, meals out, parties, seeing family. There are potential consequences to all that too so should we never do them? Even when governments are advising it's OK (with some adaptations)? Then what's the point in life as I don't think this is going away completely for a veeeeery long time.

That said (and this is just my personal preference) I'd rather no holidays abroad just this one year, and no autumn/winter lockdown/lots more deaths and illness/hospitals overwhelmed. The majority will only be partially vaccinated. They won't have had their second jab until after the summer.

@allaboutthecrisps

Is it that they just love a sunny holiday so much they don’t think about the possible consequences?

But you could apply this logic to everything and therefore do nothing. Ever. Ever again. No cinema, visiting friends, meals out, parties, seeing family. There are potential consequences to all that too so should we never do them? Even when governments are advising it's OK (with some adaptations)? Then what's the point in life as I don't think this is going away completely for a veeeeery long time.

Well yeah, exactly. I don't see why holidays are higher risk than other activities - including holidays in the U.K., which by the sounds of it will be very overcrowded.

We went away twice last year (was meant to be a lot more than that but loads of trips we had booked got cancelled) and we weren't in a crowded environment at any point, even the planes were half empty.

If you parked at the long-stay car park and didn't stop for petrol, and you live alone (or your whole household isolated), fair enough.

To whom? You? Doesn't matter. The government policy does. If that bothers you, too bad.

That said (and this is just my personal preference) I'd rather no holidays abroad just this one year,

So stay home.

If the government is allowing travel, people will travel. People on mass will act within the restrictions imposed by the state, not the restrictions that some random people would like to impose. So whether or not you choose to travel, a lot of people will because they are allowed to. You can stay at home if you want and if you feel it is right, but if you really want to go abroad and don't, then the only person who loses out is you, because so many will be travelling that it will make no difference to whether or not there is a corona outbreak in the autumn. So while I will follow government guidelines and if they say not to go abroad, I won't, I am not going to head into a self-inflicted gloomy summer with no travel. If there is an outbreak in the autumn, then I will be glad that I had the break when it was allowed in the summer.

Reachersloveinterest

Because our wonderful, regular family holiday in France would cost £1800 for 18 nights for 4 people but a shorty static caravan is £2k for a week in rainy South Wales

This

The thing is OP - if it is all the evil holiday businesses enticing people away and not giving them a refund, then equally, all the U.K. tourist businesses raking in tons and charging over the odds are wrong too. And what about all the sellers in coastal towns who are benefiting from temporarily increased property values? Corona has changed the world and there are some clear winners/losers/people trying to make money, as is usually the case.

My own personal view is that the government should not promise anything at all and should close borders quickly to any areas of concern. In addition, people should not be travelling outside Europe for leisure. Insurance companies should adapt quickly to cover government cancellations. Consumers should pay more to have that cover. The only problem is that a country like Greece, heavily dependent on tourism, might not test for concerning variants at all, as there is no incentive to do so, if it risks the holiday industry.

In addition, most people have now realised this really is going to go on for years and as soon as things open up, make the most of it, in whatever shape or form. That is your real answer. It isn’t necessarily selfish, it might be people’s mental health survival instinct kicking in.