Holidays and recession

L

liaconn

Registered User
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I've been surprised at the number of people who are still heading off on really nice holidays abroad this year. I would have thought this would be the first thing to give when your job is in jeopardy or you've had to take a pay cut. Just wondering how many people on here have changed their holiday plans as a result of the downturn?
 
In speaking to customers, associates etc, it seems that the one thing that people are not giving up this year are their holidays (if they can afford it).

I think that most people just need some time to get away from their daily lives and this constant doom/gloom barrage.

I did not take a holiday last year and i was at my tether come April. I could just about "keep things together". So i went off for a few weeks, forgot about everything and came back in a much lighter mood.

The day i left i discovered that two of my colleagues were made redundant. This concerned me, briefly, until i realised there was not much i could do about that and that like it or not i was away for a few weeks and anything that needed to be dealt with would be dealt with when i got back.

Recent BBC article "Anxiety hitting British Workers" reflects a problem which i think is hitting workers in ireland as well.

So while people may not be able to afford holidays or be reluctant to take them, i think it helps that one does anyway.
 
have to agree with the previous poster, spent 5 days in Rome in March, neither me or the wife speak Italian, we deliberatly stayed away from English papers/news/internet and totally switched off from all the doom and gloom
 
We are going to New York in a couple of weeks, despite paycuts, short working weeks, and the threat my job could be gone tomorrow. We haven't had a holiday in 4 years, and have saved hard for this trip, not a penny of it will be on credit ( credit card is preloaded with cash) and we feel we have earned the break. Having said that I have blanched a few times when totting up the total cost but there is no way we would consider not going.
 
I see your point alright (and am planning a few days in London myself - bargain flight already paid for, staying with friends). I just wonder are some people in denial and will make the hard winter ahead even harder for the sake of a couple of weeks on the Continent that will soon be forgotten.
 
liaconn said:
I just wonder are some people in denial and will make the hard winter ahead even harder for the sake of a couple of weeks on the Continent that will soon be forgotten.
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Oh definitely, a girl in my work who never stops moaning about being on a short week, no money, can't afford to eat, blah blah came back from a week in Spain and started moaning about how was she going to pay back her credit card etc. I have never understood the logic in taking out a loan for, or putting a holiday on a credit card but people will still do it no matter what - Madness!
 
We changed our plans this year as we're recovering finanically from a long stretch without work for Mr Bubbly. It made sense not to go throwing money away. This year we're doing a few 2/3 night camping trips, we just got back from one today. We're thinking about something nice for next year because budgeting or not, we want something to look forward to.
 
Perhaps people have treated this years holidays a lot appropriately with prepaid spending money and flights and treating it as a health boost rather than just another must have. which is good.
 
liaconn said:
I would have thought this would be the first thing to give when your job is in jeopardy or you've had to take a pay cut
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Well, I can think of lots of other things that could be the "first thing" to go (SUV for shopping and school run, for example). Unemployment is high and rising, but the majority of the workforce are still at work. Confidence may be lower, but holiday time still has to be booked, and there are lots of bargains available.

It's all about doing what you can afford. Even people on the dole go on holidays!
 

I think you misread my post. I said I was surprised at the number of people still booking really nice foreign holidays ie the same type of hols they've been having for the past few years.
 
No misunderstanding. What I'm suggesting is that not everyone was living beyond their means in the boom times. So if they can still afford their holidays, good luck to them.
 
extopia said:
No misunderstanding. What I'm suggesting is that not everyone was living beyond their means in the boom times. So if they can still afford their holidays, good luck to them.
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Yes, but I was talking about the number of people who splashed out on really nice holidays during the good years and, despite facing a severe downturn in their situations over the Winter, are still maintaining this. Not about people on the dole having a cheap fortnight in Majorca.
 
Oh dear, you said 'even people on the dole go on holiday'. Which had absolutely nothing to do with the topic of my original post, as I was trying to illustrate.
 
Good, as you obviously don't understand the point and are dragging this off topic.
 
Two adults and two kids could probably get a week in Majorca for €1,000. That's probably less than a months mortgage payment for most people.​
 
But if your monthly repayments are over €1,000 (which mine are) and you've had to take a substantial pay cut (which I have) €1,000 is an awful lot of money to spend on a holiday.
 
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