It’s that time again when the media loves to tell us that airports will be busy, roads will have jams and the ferries will be full to bursting point. Yes the great half-term getaway begins today. But are that many of us trying to escape the snow and the cold?
A few days ago the media were running scare stories saying the weather conditions could disrupt, if not ruin holiday plans but that has –so far- turned out to be hot air and nothing else.
Over the last few weeks tour operators have been offering deals off half-term holidays instead of placing a premium on the prices. As late as this morning you could still get some deals. It suggests that some of us have decided to stay around and enjoy home delights.
Eurostar says that they will be carrying 230,000 people during the coming week – up 10% on last year. ABTA hasn’t released figures yet but the betting is that the popular destinations will be the usual suspects such as the Canaries, Spain and the Balearics.
This year could be a good one for the skiers. Snowfall in the last few weeks in the popular resorts has been long lasting and there has been a lot of the white stuff particularly at the higher levels. The World Snowboarding Championships take place this weekend in Oslo, Norway and, coinciding, with half-term, fanatics may be bound there rather than the usual snow destinations. Again, offers on skiing holidays over half-term have been available at rates better than last year in some cases.
So it’s coming up to 7pm as I write this and there seem to be no real problems in the usual places for holiday traffic. Road works and accidents seem to be the main cause of delays. And that’s it!
Whether you’re going away or staying at home, enjoy yourselves.