"Feel good factor..."

Once again we look at the positives of going on a vacation, and therefore how they should be available to all people...

Following research conducted on their customers, specialist travel insurance provider, PJ Hayman, reveals that 61% of consumers with pre-existing medical conditions feel that going on holiday affects their health positively...

These findings were revealed as part of a study of almost 800 UK consumers which looked at the benefits of holidays for people who suffer from a range of conditions including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure...

Of those who went on holiday, 45% said they felt less stressed and therefore healthier and 41% went on holiday for rest and relaxation which they believe helped their condition. Holidays also had attitudinal benefits as 24% felt more able to deal with their condition and 27% said it allowed them to re-evaluate their situation and concentrate on being positive.

As part of the survey, P J Hayman reviewed the benefits offered to those with a variety of conditions. Cancer patients (78%) were most likely to believe holidays had affected them positively with over half (56%) saying it made them feel less stressed and healthier and 53% said it gave giving them chance to re-evaluate their situation and concentrate on being positive...

Consumers with pre-existing medical conditions went on holiday at least once a year (98%) and gained a variety of general well-being benefits. Indeed, 67% said it gave them the opportunity to spend time with family and friends which made them feel good and 45% saw it as an opportunity to relax and not think about their condition. Many people (41%) also saw this as an opportunity to fulfil an ambition to see a location they had always wanted to see...

People with cancer (66%) saw holidays as an opportunity to relax and not think about their condition while those who suffered a stroke saw holidays as a real opportunity to spend time with family and friends (67%)...

So once again (as if we needed more proof) it has been proved exactly how beneficial these breaks are, and are left wondering how long we must wait for the respective Governments to add vacations to the treatment of many health related problems...

Follow this story at http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/34660-More-than-half-of-consumers-see-medical-benefits-from-holidays

Barticus.

"But isn't it all cabbage and vodka??.."

Looking for somewhere new to vacation? Away from the crowds? Full of culture? Well an answer could be Eastern Europe...

With some amazingly opulent buildings and views to die for, many areas of Eastern Europe are just starting to really open up for travellers...

Places such as Sanctuary on Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Poland, where "the large baroque monastery of Jasna Góra dominates a hilltop in Częstochowa and is always bustling with pilgrims and worshippers. As pilgrims approach the monastery, the most striking sight is the 106-meter belltower, reconstructed in 1906. The focus of pilgrims to Jasna Góra is not the monastery, but the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, which is displayed in a altar in the Chapel of the Black Madonna..."

Or how about Krkonose National Park, in the Czech Republic where "the park has also been listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve site. Despite the small area, the Mountains are endowed with a rich flora. More than 1,250 species of vascular plants have been identified in the region. This amounts to almost half of the total original flora of the Czech Republic. The Mountains do not belong among the biggest European mountain ranges but in spite of that their natural scientific repute is in many aspects similar to that of the Alps or High Tatra..."

Some seriously beautifull places, so go and take a look at 10 of the best at http://www.tourism-review.com/article/1938-top-10-attractions-in-the-eastern-europe

Barticus.

"Cheap holidays..."

Holidays of a lifetime are going under the hammer for literally pennies in a new travel auction run by international water charity Just a Drop and The Sun newspaper. The Sun Big Charity Auction is offering more than £200,000 of holiday prizes for potentially less than the loose change in your pocket....

Holiday prizes up for grabs include trips to Brazil, Cuba, Disneyland Paris, Innsbruck, Las Vegas, Reykjavik, Austria and Turkey. So you could find yourself topping up your tan on Copacabana Beach this winter for the price of a bag of sweets...

It costs just 50p per bid to enter, and the auction runs till 23 December. All proceeds go to Just a Drop, a charity that aim to combat child mortality in developing countries caused by unsafe water. It builds wells and manages sanitation and health education programmes...

Fiona Jeffery, founder and chairman of Just a Drop, said: “Given the harsh economic climate we adopted ‘a gift in kind’ strategy and The Sun and Bidclever immediately both offered to give their support for free. Then travel & tourism companies from around the world rallied together to donate over 30 fabulous holiday prizes...”

Brilliant, just brilliant. Just a drop are another excellent charity (that we ran into at the WTM) and we hope this works for them...

Find out more at http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/just-a-drop-offers-trips-of-a-lifetime-for-pennies/

Barticus.