HOLIDAY PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 190, 10 May 1938, Page 11

HOLIDAY PROBLEM

Move To Spread Period In Britain “Dominion" Special Service—By Air Mail. London, February 20. There is a movement afoot in Great Britain for spreading the summer holidays over a wider period. At present nearly all schools and educational institutions, as well as factories, workshops and mines, have their annual holidays in August. This leads to overcrowding at holiday resorts and puts a great strain upon transport facilities.

This is unsatisfactory from many points of view; in particular some holiday-makers do not benefit sufficiently from their holidays, because of the difficulty of catering for so many at the same time.

The railway companies have pointed out the need" for a change from their particular standpoint, The number of monthly i return tickets —the principal type of reduced-fare tickets used by holiday-makers—issued by the mainline railways during June is increased by one hundred per cent, in August. Compared with Maj’ or October, about 20,000,000 extra passengers travel by British trains in August, and to accommodate these extra passengers about 40,000 extra trains are required. Some local authorities and industrial undertakings anticipated the present movement some time ago, and spread their holidays over different periods between June and September. To do this throughout the country will not be so easy, however, as in industry manj’ jobs are inter-connected, but the nearer this ideal can be reached the greater will be the general benefit—for transport companies and holiday resorts as well as for Jioliday-makers,