Words About Things

More and more people are booking in last-minute holiday breaks at an increased paced compared to last year. Consumer confidence and competitive pricing is tempting more holidaymakers back into travel, particularly in the U.K. and Germany. Figures show that up to 14% of holidays booked in June 2010 were booked only four weeks or less before the departure date, an increase from June 2009.

Holiday Booking Agencies are not the only ones set to benefit from the rise. Hotels and local business in the popular holiday areas as well as short term transportation like car rental and van rental, or leasing agencies are also ready to service eager holiday makers.

In the U.K. holidaymakers are eager to take advantage of the rising Pound value against the weakening Euro, with the prospect of travelling to mainland Europe being a more affordable choice than usual. Meanwhile in Germany, unemployment figures have continued to fall as the economy stabilizes, giving consumers a renewed confidence to make spontaneous purchases and investments.

The ash plume from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano as well as riots in Greece and Thailand also put some vacationers off making bookings earlier in the year. “People are anxious early in the year whether they will still have their job in summer to pay for a holiday trip,” said Klaus Kraenzle, an analyst at GSC Research in Dusseldorf.

The increase of online booking is also making it easier, faster, and cheaper to find the holiday best suited for consumers. Price comparison websites make it even easier to search for the best deals. “To get the best deal, consumers are spending more time online and that’s reducing the time between booking and travel,” said Caroline Bremner, global travel and tourism manager at Euromonitor International in London.

“People are booking later than ever before,” said Nina Meyer, a spokeswoman for L’TUR Tourismus AG, Europe’s largest last-minute-travel organizer. L’TUR’s package-tour sales are ahead of last year and the company aims to sell 1 million journeys for the year, up from 2009’s record 832,000, which produced revenue of 360 million euros ($464 million), she said.

Although the area around modern day Las Vegas is basically desert it’s name actually means ‘the meadows’ in Spanish. Natural wells in the area meant that it was surprisingly green. The valley belonged to Mexico before it was seized by the USA during the Mexican-American war. In 1855 the area was taken over by Mormons who were eventually driven out by the native American Paiute tribe. It wasn’t until the early 20th century when water from the underground wells was piped into the town that Las Vegas began to grow into the city it is today.

The history of Las Vegas is very interesting but it seems quite distant from what the city has become, ‘The city of sin’ as it is often called has reinvented itself. These days it is famous for its giant casinos and over the top entertainment in stark contrast to its Mormon past. Modern day Vegas has a reputation as a city where ‘anything goes’ which includes gambling, strip clubs, mass intoxication and quickie marriages. Traveling around the city you are likely to see lots of bachelor and bachelorette parties and thousands of bad Elvis impersonators.

The area around Las Vegas has lots to offer for tourists who have had their fill of gambling and drinking. The invitingly named Death Valley is about 135 miles away in the Mojave Desert. Hop in a hire car in Las Vegas and you could be sweating away in Death Valley within a few hours.

Death Valley National Park comprises more than 3.3 million acres of spectacular desert scenery, rare desert wildlife, complex geology, undisturbed wilderness and sites of historical interest. Death Valley is unique because it contains the lowest, hottest, driest location in North America. Nearly 550 square miles of its area lie below sea level.

The hotels in Las Vegas are as understated and tasteful as you might expect – not all all. The Venetian hotel contains a pool deck and a actual working canal, the Luxor hotel is housed within a life sized pyramid. Most of the big hotels in the city have entertainment facilities, health spas and casinos. Some even have wedding chapels so you can get married in between gambling away your savings and going out for dinner.

Whatever you decide to do it up to you but remember: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Some of the best movies of all time (and some not-so-good ones) have featured road trips: Easy Rider, À Bout De Souffle, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and of course SpongeBob SquarePants The Movie. The possibilities of the open road mean that anything can happen, the constant travel propels the story forwards and the characters always arrive home a different person.

“We were all delighted, we all realized we were leaving confusion and nonsense behind and performing our one noble function of the time, move.”

Jack Kerouac – On The Road

That might be slightly more than most of us want from a holiday but you get the idea: take to the open road and see what happens. You can’t do this in a Mondeo though, you need a Cadillac or something similarly retro. At the very least car hire is necessary so that you can get something big enough to pick up hitchhikers or sleep in the back if you can’t find anywhere to stay. You also need a video camera to record your adventure, a budget one such as a Flip will do and leaves more money free for car rental. Good Luck!