Hello, I'm On The Beach

Taking a well-earned holiday may no longer be an escape from the office, according to Continental Research’s 2008 Holiday Report. The digital revolution is making the world a much smaller place with many people remaining digitally contactable in virtually any part of the world whilst on vacation. 74% of UK internet users take their mobiles with them on holiday, jumping to 92% of those aged under 34 years.

Report author Colin Shaddick said: “For some unfortunate people, a snooze on the beach or a romantic lunch at a beach-side restaurant might well be interrupted by “Digital Travellers” who cause friction by overtly chatting on their phones, texting, sending emails, or fiddling with a PDA or games console.

“Other people’s technology can be very frustrating and invasive as it is – we’ve all become used to people shouting into their mobiles or pumping music out of their iPods in public. This intrusion can become especially annoying when you are trying to get away from it all on holiday. And pity the Digital Traveller’s friends or family – it’s hardly romantic when one person is frantically Blackberry-ing the office when they’re supposed to be sharing a sundowner cocktail in a beautiful holiday location - and tempers, not surprisingly become distinctly chilled.”

Shaddick added: “Younger people are often the early adopters of new technology and they provide a glimpse of how technology will be used in the future. Based on this assumption, the number of people taking a holiday to totally escape their day-to-day lives will become fewer. The number of under 35 year olds travelling on holiday with mobiles, laptops, and PDAs is considerable. The greatest boom is the iPod/MP3 player, as nearly half of under 35 year olds now travel with one.”

28 January 2008