Not so long ago, the weary tourist would head off on holiday for the simple pleasures of recharging their batteries, topping up their tan and relaxing on a sun-lounger.
Now, it seems, we are more likely to spend our time away catching up online with friends and acquaintances than gaze at the horizon or the contents of a good book.
A new study has found that the average holidaymaker spends at least an hour a day of their down-time logging on to social media portals or checking other favourite websites.
In fact, so obsessed are we with the online world that a new holiday annoyance – hotels and resorts charging for wi-fi access – has joined the more familiar worries that can have travellers reaching for complaint forms and their booking terms and conditions.
The survey was conducted by accommodation group Thistle Hotels, which asked 2000 people about their regular holiday peeves.
The top frustration was still the issue symbolised by the manic face of Basil Fawlty, with 69 per cent of those questioned saying rude hotel staff were their key bone of contention.
Arriving at your resort to find that your room is still being cleaned, and is not ready, was the second most common concern – suggested by 45 per cent of respondees.
But a sign of changing times is there at number three, with a very modern complaint – being forced to pay for wi-fi – causing grumbles with over a third of people (38 per cent).
Other widespread holiday flashpoints included a poor selection of food at the resort buffet (37 per cent of those questioned) and a hotel being further from a destination’s attractions and restaurants than advertised (32 per cent).
Our determination to be tweeting and liking even when we are supposed to be taking a break from the norm is also apparent in the survey’s list of what are considered to be the most important elements of a stay at a place in the sun.
Over half of the respondees (51 per cent) said that free wi-fi is crucial to their enjoyment of their escape – ranking higher than a hotel having a swimming pool (49 per cent), being close to a destination’s attractions (41 per cent) and offering in-room TVs (37 per cent).
“It’s crazy to think that, in 2014, hotel chains are still charging for wi-fi,” says Mike DeNoma of Thistle Hotels.
“Our research shows that free wi-fi is very important to holidaymakers.”
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以前，疲憊的游客還會為了享受自我充電、把皮膚曬成棕褐色和徜徉在日光浴浴床的樂趣而在節假日出行。
然而，我們現在似乎更愿意和親朋好友網聊打發時間，不大會凝望遠方或暢游在書的世界里。
新的調查顯示，度假者休閑時平均每天登陸社交網絡或瀏覽其它喜歡的網址最少一個小時。
事實上，我們因過于沉溺網絡，一項新的節日煩惱——酒店和度假區對wi-fi收費——已成為我們比較熟悉的擔憂之一，促使游客拿起投訴和酒店預定條款來為自己爭取免費wi-fi服務。
本次調查是由住宿集團薊花酒店發起的，針對游客在節假日里常見的抱怨，邀請了2000人參與。
排在第一位的依然是酒店服務員臉上像貝塞爾•弗爾蒂（英國某情景喜劇中的人物）不甚耐煩的表情。69%的受訪者認為酒店員工態度粗魯是導致他們不滿意的主因。
45%的受訪者認為，居第二位的是，到了假日酒店，卻發現你訂的房間還在清理之中。
38%受訪者認為，酒店服務落伍排在第三位，比如，別的地方wi-fi早已免費，可你住的酒店卻要收費。
其它節假日抱怨包括，假日酒店自助餐種類少（占受訪者的37%），酒店距離目的地景點和餐館比廣告說的遠（32%）。
即使我們計劃好好度個假，也必須得上推特逛逛，在“選擇某處陽光度假地時最重要的考慮因素是什么”一欄中，這一點表現得非常明顯。
過半受訪者（51%）認為，免費wi-fi 對享受度假至關重要，比酒店有游泳池（49%）、離目的地景點距離近（41%）和房間內有電視（37%）還重要。
薊花酒店的馬克∙ 德諾瑪說，“2014年，酒店還要對wi-fi收費，想起來都讓人崩潰！”
“我們的研究表明，免費wi-fi對度假者非常重要。” |
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