Holiday Travel [Archives:2000/27/Last Page]

By Shams Tabrez
Director Marketing
Co. United Travel & Tourism, Sanaa

Who else but a tour operator can provide you with the ultimate in travel. You can enjoy the best holidays in the world, from the deluxe to the inexpensive. They provide a chance for everyone to realize the holiday of their dreams. The delights of travel for its own sake include the famous Orient Express, luxurious cruises or round-the-world tours and many many more.
Sun worshippers can indulge in the sophisticated Seychelles, informal Pattaya or Phukat, the fantastic coral reefs of the Maldives or the atolls of the South Pacific.
You can visit the great cities of the world: London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Venice, Moscow, Sydney or Johannesburg and you can ask for suggested itineraries or (FITs) individual Travelers to GT group travels.
You may take Adventure Tours or go for Activity Holidays, African Safaris or trekking in Pakistan or carnival in Rio or the Sonjkaran Festival in Bangkok. Whatever your interest is Tour Consultants are always there to help you, advise you and serve you.
Tour companies sell service and holidays, people buy packages and satisfaction from them. They act as the consultants and are a travel management company.
I have categorized holidays into the following:
a. Beach holidays.
b. Holidays in cities.
c. The Classic Grand Tour holiday.
d. Holidays with Grand Events.
e. Activity Holidays.
f. Adventure Holidays.
a. BEACH HOLIDAYS:
Sunset on a palm-fringed beach, mile after mile of deserted white sand, turquoise water, lush greenery and bright tropical flowers.
This is paradise, but outside our dreams, does it exist? The answer is Yes: in just a few very special corners of the world.
For the great escape holiday you need more than just a beautiful beach. The most cherished of the world’s resorts are blessed with calm waters, a range of holiday accommodation to suit most tastes and budgets and diversions inland which will make a day trip away from sunÑlounger or surfboard more than just a duty. Those who think that beach holidays are all the same could not be further from the truth. There is the chic sophistication of islands like Bermuda and Jamaica. From a luxurious over-water bungalow on a blue lagoon in the South Pacific to a simple beach-side hut on the shores of a Thai resort island, there are many different ways of staying at the world’s best beaches. Of course it is impossible to make out a definitive list of the best beaches in the world, but Tour operators do recommend Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Seychelles for an easy and convenient approach to the residents of Yemen.
b. HOLIDAYS IN CITIES:
Cities: places bustling with activity, usually with some sort of town square or city focal point and steeped in history and culture.
Cities can often be seen at their best during the winter months when the tourist trade is at a low ebb and sights are not packed with jostling crowds. The exception to the ruck of crowds is, of course Vienna, where Christmas time is one of its busiest seasons.
Short city breaks to Europe have been popular for some time. Hopping on a plane to Paris or Venice is something which many have become accustomed to. A metropolis may be a metropolis wherever you are but different traditions, languages, highlights and attractions provide the distinction needed to make each place unique. Vancouver’s backdrop of the Canadian Rockies gives the city an incomparable setting, Sydney’s magnificent harbor, complete with the sails of the Opera House, cannot be rivaled by any other bay area in the world and Hong Kong’s shops will provide you with a wider selection of goods than you are ever likely to find in such a small area again. These are the things which help make a city holiday enjoyable and unforgettable.
A visit to a city is all about immersing yourself in its life, so that you come away with a greater understanding of its culture and history, spending as long as you wish in galleries and museums, dining out in anything from a five-star restaurant to a local market cafe, exploring the streets and alleys, rubbing shoulders with the locals and staying in a choice of accommodation best suited to your pocket. It is also about pampering yourself and receiving the sort of treatment and service that only comes your way on special occasions. And perhaps more than anything else, city holidays are meant for living your life in the fast lane for a few days. Their very nature makes them the perfect way to enjoy life to the full, as long or short a time as you wish.
c. THE CLASSIC GRAND TOUR HOLIDAY
Lets see what exactly is a classic Grand Tour and what is it that transforms an ordinary holiday tour into one which can be called classic:
Two of the main factors relevant in deciding which countries or regions should or should not be taken, are the comforts of the holiday, and whether it represents good value for money, not only in itself but also in the context of the travel market in general.
The places selected should have, over the years, either earned a reputation as traditional holiday spots or have almost become revered because they should be areas of outstanding natural beauty. Indeed in many instances, they are a combination of both. Towering mountains and turbulent rivers, a strong sense of historical relevance and magnificent cultural heritage are other features common to many classic holidays. What makes these trips outstanding though, is the style in which it is possible to experience them. Comfort and quality are the main hallmarks of a classic tour and as such any traveler can be assured of more than just an average holiday. I suggest that Classic Grand Tours are the type of tours that you would like to send with your mother! While in all probability, everybody’s mother would enjoy their holidays, their appeal is much wider.
d. HOLIDAYS WITH GREAT EVENTS
The full spectacle of a great event cannot be conveyed, some world event shave to be experienced to be believed.
These occasions can be carnivals, events, theatrical productions or religious festivals, which often provide the annual cultural climax of their host town or country. It is the chance to capture the atmosphere at first hand that attracts people to such extravaganzas. All such occasions draw huge crowds from all over the world.
Great events must be one of the best ways to experience a country’s traditional culture. “SONGKRAN”, the new year in Thailand is an unforgettable experience partly because of its tradition, which reaches far back into Thai history and which has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years. When you visit Thailand at this festival you find yourself drawn into the Thai lifestyle, and this experience undoubtedly provides a highlight of your holiday.
One must make allowances for the unique nature of this type of holiday, thousands of people converging on one place for a single event create certain problems. Accommodation becomes limited and often more expensive than usual. However, there are now many different packages available with reputable tour operators. A few tour operators do give advice that many of these difficulties can be removed by early booking
e. ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS
For many people a holiday needs to be more than just a week in the sun doing nothing. You have been on beach holidays; fine for a few days then boredom sets in. Something more exciting is needed; new challenges, the chance to improve at a sport or hobby, an opportunity to meet different people with common interests. All of those are valid reasons why so many are turning to activity holidays.
In the past, activity holidays tended to appeal largely to young singles with only their own interests to consider. To a certain extent this still applies today. We call Hard Tourism; scuba-diving, high-altitude hiking and overland four-wheel drive trips are not for the unfit, families, or lovers of luxury.
Golfing holidays which also offer gourment cookery courses and health centers appeal to non-golfing partners, and certain holiday villages and resorts like club med. provide all-day supervision for children, while parents can indulge in sporting pursuits. Nevertheless, the number of specific pursuits on offer is vast. Now you can choose between hot-air ballooning in France, skiing in Colorado, trekking in Pakistan, India, Katmandu or any of the other exciting holidays that we think are amongst the best in the world.
f. ADVENTURE HOLIDAYS.
From the earliest times, man has had the urge to explore. Those who discovered new continents, countries and species, in their search for honor, glory and adventure, become popular folk heroes.
Let’s take Pakistan; it’s tourism started 4000 years ago. The first tourist groups to arrive were the Aryans, who liked the land so much that hey never left. Next came the Persians, the Greeks, the Bactarians, the White Huns, the Turks, the Mongols; the list goes on and on. Some of the distinguished tourists have been Alexander the Great from Greece and Winston Churchill from England. Mahmood Ghaznavi an Afghan tourist, liked this area (todays Pakistan) so much that he spent his winter vacation here for seventeen consecutive years.
Then came the late twentieth century: the world shrank to the size of a global village, and suddenly everyone was hopping onto planes and jetting abroad in their search for sun, sea and sand or wine, wonder and weather.
But like the waves that flowed and ebbed inexorably on countless package-holiday beaches, the tide of human holiday-makers eventually peaked and started to decline. Today, although such holidays still comprise a large part of the overall travel sector, tame sun-seeking trips to foreign parts are no longer as popular as they once were.
The intelligent holiday-maker of the late 90’s is altogether more sophisticated and discerning. He or she is in search of an entirely different experience, hoping to capture some of the excitement of the real trade of former times, but in a safe ad controlled fashion, as part of a small and like-minded group, and often within a challenging physical and personal environment. Thus has the great Adventure Holiday boon sprung forth.
The gap between rough and unpredictable independent travel on the one land, and mollycoddled, sedentary and anonymous cheap package holidays on the other, has finally been bridged. Nowadays it is quite possible to buy an “off the shelf” trip which combines all the ingredients that go to make an adventure holiday: isolated surroundings, challenge, excitement, rugged scenery and sense of achievement. Never before has it been possible to enjoy such a wide selection from within such a broad spectrum of adventure theme holidays. From “soft” trips – such as lodge “comfort” safaris – to “hard” trips – like dog – sledding expeditions to the Arctic. Packaged adventure holidays are enjoying enormous and increasing popularity today.
Especially popular are safari – based trips on which you can see Africa’s wilderness and wildlife on foot, horseback, by off-road vehicle, train or even hot-air balloon. Whether you opt to sleep under canvas or thatch, the choice of tour operators is yours. If your taste for adventure lies in cooler climes however, then the range of Arctic trips available is wider today than ever before.
You may not be the first person ever to set foot on a particular area, or observe a certain species. But to you each new adventure or experiment will be personal. The likelihood is that each adventure holiday you make will leave you with a host of abiding memories and the probability of making enduring friendship.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. What you have to do is to dial a tour operator and obtain the information and you can choose the destination of your choice. God has created this world for us to explore. So lets explore.
Emirates Holidays by Emirates Airlines, Royal Orchid Holidays by Thai International and British Airways Holidays are the few recommended packaged holiday deals offering worldwide options.
“REALLY THE WORLD IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK!”

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