As you can see, above are the statistics for the amount of people over 60 who took holidays at least once a year if not more.
Shorter working week
The reduction in working hours over the past 10 centuries has given us more time to travel. An introduction of the minimum wage has also made travel easier as employees have more money
Almost all workers aged 18 and over are entitled to the minimum wage. The minimum wage for those aged 22 and over is £5.52.
There is a lower minimum wage of £4.60 for those aged 18 to 21.
Freelance and temporary workers are entitled to the minimum wage.
Workers aged 16 and 17 (except apprentices) are entitled to a minimum of £3.40 per hour
European legislation on working time
A limit of an average of 48 hours a week which a worker can be required to work (though workers can choose to work more if they want to).
A limit of an average of 8 hours work in 24 which night workers can be required to work.
A right for night workers to receive free health assessments. A right to 11 hours rest a day. A right to a day off each week. A right to an in-work rest break if the working day is longer than 6 hours. A right to 4 weeks paid leave per year.
Above is a table showing how annual working hours have changed in the last 9 centuries. On average working hours per week have gone down by almost 5 hours weekly in the last 9 centuries. Now in the modern day UK people can afford to take holidays twice a year due to recent wage and holiday legislations.
Greater Affluence
As the generations pass the British public are richer than ever. People are paying off their mortgages earlier and not having to financially support their children. Even people on the lowest wages have TV’s and DVD players not to mention mobile phones. Half a century ago “poor” meant not enough money to feed yourself, in the modern day world however not having the latest games console and pair of trainers makes you “poor”.
Greater Mobility
The increase in car ownership over the last ninety years has made travelling easier. Along with the introduction of package holidays the increase in motorways built in the 1950’s allowed people to travel faster and further .At the end of the twentieth century the motor car continues to dominate. Car ownership has increased steadily: only three out of ten households in Great Britain had a car in 1961, but by 1998 seven out of ten households had at least one. Over the same period the proportion of households with two or more cars has grown from 2 per cent in 1961 to 28 per cent in 1998. The number of cars licensed in Great Britain has risen steadily since the 1950s; there are now more than ten times as many cars as there were in 1950.
In recent years competition between budget airlines alongside tourism programmes have transformed tourism.
Since the introduction of budget airlines in 1997 - figures have shown an upsurge in overnight stays from close to 6 million in 1997 to more then 7 million in 2005.
Growth in tourism was especially strong after the introduction of budget airlines in 1997. Since then, international over night stays have shown an average growth of almost 10% per annum. A government statistic official, Jones Lang LaSalle said: “Budget airlines have had a large impact on tourism in the last ten years. However the Government’s proposal to introduce a new airport tax could slow growth in tourist numbers and effect the hotel industry which already has several new hotels currently in the pipeline and expected to open in the next 3 years.”
The emergence of low cost carriers (LCC) has created a gradual evolution in European tourism. Statistics show that in 1994 less than 3 million passengers used LCC in Europe, by 1999 this figure increased to 17.5 million and then in 2003 to a staggering 85 million; a year later there was a further rise of 24% to 107 million. Only now we are seeing the affects of this transport revolution on tourism, and Europe is a case in point.
