PLANNED HOLIDAYS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27241, 18 November 1949, Page 6

PLANNED HOLIDAYS

There is a limit to the amount of planning which should be required for a holiday. Too much planning—in this as in 'Other matters—has a dampening effect on the spirit of the thing. But in New Zealand, if plans are not made months ahead, there is very little chance that the holidaymaker will be able to enjoy the vacation he has looked forward to in imagination. This state of affairs, which is due to a number of interacting causes, social as well as economic, has been most noticeable since the war. Some people now find it advisable to arrange next year’s accommodation twelve months ahead, and as early as February some of the most popular resorts are fully booked out for the following Christmas and New Year period. By mid-year it is only the optimist who expects to have much choice in where he goes or where he stays. The difficulty is not confined to obtaining accommodation. Those who intend to visit friends and relatives find that the transport services by land, sea and air are heavily booked as soon as the schedules are announced. Earlier this year an officer of the Tourist Bureau estimated that 25 per cent, of New Zealand holidaymakers met disappointment last year when they tried to find accommodation. To this figure is to be added the percentage of those whose plans failed because of transport difficulties. The result of all this in terms of hours of queue-standing, argument, frustration and general nerve-strain would probably, daunt even the statistician who attempted to assess it.

The solution of this problem is not simple. It has been suggested that holidays should be staggered, but this idea has aroused little more enthusiasm than the proposal for the staggering of the five-day week and it has not been seriously considered. The congestion caused by holidaymakers in England in the months of July and August led to a campaign last year for staggered holidays but this proved to be a complete failure. It iS difficult to believe, _ however, that "something could not be done. In England the accommodation aspect of holiday difficulties has been assisted by the rapid development of holiday camps organised in such locations as wartime military camps. There is too much regimentation for them in these camps to appeal to New Zealanders—yet—but the system might be adapted to suit local conditions and requirements. Also manufacturers and commercial organisations might find it possible by mutual planning to stagger holidays in some factories, offices or shops, and the attraction of the Christmas-New Year holidays—or, more generally, the period from mid-December to mid-January—could be countered to some extent by the offer of early and late travel concessions. The problem is really too absurd for the suggestion to be entertained that it cannot be solved by an intelligent approach.