Tonight:
4°c
Fear keeps Britons at home in the holidays
Rosamund Urwin16.04.09
It seems the great British holidaymaker can be stopped.
Britons are calling off their week in the summer sun amid concerns over the security of their jobs, sparking fears that travel companies could be the next sector to bear the brunt of recession.
Figures from recruitment site TipTopJob.com showed that more than half of UK jobseekers surveyed have cancelled plans to go abroad or are intending to do so because of the economic climate.
Tour operators Tui Travel and Thomas Cook, which together account for half of the market, have long claimed that summer breaks will be the last thing people will cut back on. Tui chief executive Peter Long said last year: "Our customers are saying that their main summer holiday is sacrosanct."
But now even these have been ditched as the downturn bites.
And those who do make it abroad will be leaving their BlackBerrys switched on by the pool, with 53% of those surveyed saying that they are now more likely to stay in touch with their office when they are away.
