Kuwait Times

Published Date: July 16, 2010
By Muna Al-Fuzai, Staff Columnist

I think the understanding of what a holiday means needs to be urgently addressed at this time of the year, when many Arab families are packing their suitcases and heading abroad. It is also the time of year during which many expatriate residents and citizens leave, either to see their families abroad or to visit new places. Yet, at the end of the summer they fail to feel happy or admit that their holiday wasn't that great. This really needs a deeper analysis.

Before we jump into this subject, we need to shed light on the weak points or some of the areas which many families don't take into consideration in the process of planning a vacation.

Who, where, why and how much? These are the four main elements that any family needs to decide on before they rush to a travel agency to book a holiday. The easy part ends here with the decision as to who is going. If this is a trip for two family members then how old are they? If you have infants and young kids then you probably need to go somewhere that they can enjoy space and outdoor activities, such as a beach area or a resort with a kids' pool and the possibility of arcade games or outdoors trips in
the woods.

Kids today are shut in enclosed spaces, shut in at school and at home nearly all year round. It would be great for a family to plan their holidays to provide a change to this, to take kids to a new, more enjoyable environment. Kids love change and such trips are an adventure for them. I have seen many families with children, however, travelling to destinations where the mother can do more shopping and the only activity for the kids is to sit in the hotel watching TV or wander round malls doing nothing and
having nothing to eat. At the end of the day, they are tired, hungry and bored, unable to do anything exciting that's tailored to their age group!

So, a good plan that takes the needs of all the family members into account is a priority, especially when the kids are coming along. This means that parents need to make a small sacrifice and be less selfish, i.e. to act as adults, helping to make the trip enjoyable for the children too.

Credit cards are another contentious issue here. Many people feel that they're easy to use when travelling. The consequences of misusing them and exceeding one's financial limitations can bring a lot of trouble later on, so be careful when using the 'magic cards,' and remember they're not free; this is your money you're using, even if it doesn't look the same - failing to remember this can result in major problems after your trip.

There are numerous problems. I can't understand, for instance, why many Arab families carry large amounts of luggage as if they're emigrating rather than going on holiday for a few weeks. The funny thing here is that they then travel to a destination where they go shopping and end up with even more bags and cases! Do they really need to bring along all these clothes with them or what? For example, what is the point of taking a hairdryer when you're going to stay in a five-star hotel?! I've seen this happe
ning and could never figure out the reasoning behind it.

What all families need is two sets of plans; the first for before they leave the country and the other for after their arrival at their destination, not only for the adult holidaymakers, but also for everyone accompanying them, including the servants.

Also, if the maid comes along on vacation, why isn't she given the right to decide where she wants to go and what to do and see there? Why isn't she given time off on her own to explore the destination instead of being expected to be stuck with the family the whole time?

Finally, one odd thing that I've seen frequently is the elaborate ritual of emotional farewells and welcome homes, in which ten or more family members and friends will turn out at the airport even just to see one single man travelling on holiday off on his flight or to welcome his return. All the family and friends come along to bid the traveler farewell and, of course, to kiss and hug him as if he were leaving not for a couple of weeks holiday but for the front line in a war without any means of maintaini
ng contact with him while he's away!

I have great difficulty in understanding such behavior and why so many people feel the need to turn up to see even just one holidaymaker off on their vacation, and why they can't spare the airport staff the overcrowding and problems produced by their apparent need to see one person off on holiday. How important is going on vacation that all these people need to come to the airport simultaneously, causing unnecessary chaos for everyone else, just to show their love, indeed passion, for their vacationing fri
end or relative?

We need to become more aware and many families need to learn how to travel - not to change locations, but to change the rhythm and to amend their hectic thought patterns and money-wasting behavior.
Email: muna@kuwaittimes.net