Weekend breaks are the winners as UK travellers opt for staycations

Never before had the UK travel industry seen anything like it. And with the dust still far from settled on the great British travel fiasco of spring 2010, it looks almost certain that thousands of Brits will eschew the delights of foreign travel this summer rather than risk dipping a toe in foreign waters again in the near future.

Their hesitance to embark on a journey abroad is eminently understandable, with tales abounding in the press of spiralling accommodation and transport expenses, people sleeping on the streets due to “no room at the (holiday) inn”, and queues of exhausted travellers waiting patiently to get back home days – even weeks – after their planned return.

Safe to say, the thought of travelling abroad again on holiday is probably very far from the minds of these unfortunate folk, whose travel plans were thrown into disarray by Mother Nature in such spectacular fashion.

If and when they do venture away from their own backdoor this summer, they are much more likely to book pleasant weekend breaks within the UK at destinations such as luxury hotels with health resorts and spas.

These bastions of wellbeing provide the perfect opportunity to indulge in some much-needed rest and relaxation rather than stressing over potential flight delays and refunds.

If you revel in being pampered and cosseted, the beauty treatment menu awaits for your delectation and delight.  If you prefer to exercise and get out and about, there are fitness classes and cycle tracks aplenty.

Alternatively, if you simply want to lie by the pool, watching the world go by and saving your limited energy supplies for the occasional non-strenuous saunter to the sauna, that’s perfectly permissible, too.

Weekend breaks are a panacea for all the stresses and strains of modern-day living.  You can turn your back on the office politics, forget the housework for a couple of days, abandon the kids to the tender mercies of their grandparents, and escape the seemingly endless stream of professional and domestic dilemmas by chilling out in style at a spa.

And talking of chilly things, provided you’re travelling to your healthspa destination by car, bus or train, you won’t need to worry about what’s happening in Iceland either!