Foreign holidays 'should seem like a treat'

Travel companies should be promoting their cheap ferry breaks and other holiday options as a treat to help consumers escape the daily grind of work during the recession, according to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Mark Stuart, head of research at the CIM, said companies' marketing methods have to change during an economic downturn as holidays are an extra expense that people may be thinking about with caution.

He went on to explain that consumers should see their breaks as something to help them escape from stress, rather than an extra cost that will add to their worries.

"Position a foreign holiday as a treat that you should allow yourself – rather than feeling you have to cut back, reward yourself with a holiday to escape the everyday grind of the downturn," Mr Stuart said.

Another potential effect of the recession is an increase in the popularity of holiday destinations closer to home, which are made easily accessible by the extensive network of ferry crossings throughout the British Isles.

Mr Stuart offered examples of holiday options such as "fishing in the Highlands, hiking around the Cumbrian lakes or walking the spectacular clifftops in the south-west".