January 19th - To Book Or Not To Book, That Is The Question
Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
The Independent
3.6 • 628 Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2022
⏱️ 6 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The UK government has declared Covid restrictions will not be renewed at the end of January, as the worst of the Omicron wave looks to have passed. But does that mean you should jump for that holiday booking right away? I take a look at the good and the bad of booking now and what an extra thrill a last minute booking when you're more aware of the travel restrictions, can be.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I'm Simon Calder, welcoming you to my independent travel podcast, bringing you the latest news on travelling, whether you're just dreaming of a great escape or actually making plans for one. |
| 0:14.4 | To book or not to book? That is the question. You may well have heard at lunchtime on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said that a lot of the so-called Plan B rules are going to be abolished, including working from home, which will perhaps see more people catching trains and buses, and of course driving to work. There is going to be an end to the general |
| 0:39.7 | requirement in crowded areas to wear face masks, although I would urge anybody who wants to |
| 0:46.1 | demonstrate full respect for their fellow citizens to continue to wear one. And it does raise the prospect of, oh, thank goodness for that. |
| 0:57.2 | It's all over now. |
| 0:58.5 | After what, 22 months approximately? |
| 1:02.2 | Let's just get out and enjoy ourselves. |
| 1:04.0 | Let's book a holiday. |
| 1:05.3 | And I can absolutely understand that. |
| 1:09.1 | However, just as I appreciate how important it is to have the anticipation |
| 1:16.1 | of a holiday, any trip has three components which are all very, very valuable. There's |
| 1:25.2 | anticipation, looking forward to it, having some literal light at the end of the COVID tunnel. |
| 1:33.8 | Thinking of yourself on that beautiful beach in Greece or Italy or Florida or wherever. |
| 1:40.8 | And the thought of that can help you keep going. I love anticipating trips. My very worst |
| 1:47.7 | trip ever by a country mile was aboard a ship organised by Adventure Canada. I spent a fortune on it. |
| 1:57.9 | Oh, it was terrible, the worst organised trip I've ever had. But even though I look back |
| 2:04.6 | at it and grimace, for months I was really looking forward to it. And so it generated what |
| 2:11.5 | economists would call utility. And any trip you should be able to enjoy looking forward to it. |
| 2:17.4 | You should enjoy the experience of being |
| 2:19.0 | there. And of course you are creating memories. And those are all really important. However, |
| 2:25.1 | the anticipation I think you will still have to do without for now. You can convince yourself |
| 2:31.9 | as I do that, okay, moment I get a signal that it's okay to travel, |
... |
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