Don’t underestimate how important holidays are to your customers, saysNatalie Marsh, as T


ravel Weekly marks World Mental Health Day


Jo Richards, Tivoli Travel


The FHA helps families most in need get away


I


t’s likely we’ve all uttered the words “I need a holiday” on many occasions since March 2020. The past year and a half,


whether it has been full of work or furlough, stress or boredom, chaos or loneliness, will have pushed most of us to a point where we’ve craved some time away from our day-to-day routines. And travel agents are seeing this


among their clients, who have been contacting them desperate for a break. “They use that expression ‘I need to get away’, not ‘I want’. It’s ‘I need to get away’,” says Ken Garrity of Ken Garrity Travel in Altrincham. Half of those polled recently by


AllClear Travel Insurance said their summer holiday this year was key to improving their mental health and wellbeing, with 23% saying they needed an escape to help with their anxiety. “We all have our own recipe


12 14 OCTOBER 2021


Weight off your shoulders Having a holiday to look forward to can be just what’s needed to find a silver lining after a really difficult time for many. “We’ve got a particular customer


for what keeps us mentally healthy and, for a lot of people, travel and holidays is a massive part of that blend,” says Chris O’Sullivan, head of communications and fundraising (Scotland and NI) at the Mental Health Foundation. He says this was clear when curbs


on international travel began to lift and there was a “clamour to travel” despite unpredictable restrictions. “The fact people were prepared


to risk money and sometimes other things to get away shows how important [travel] is to some people,” he adds.


who works in a care home and had no time off at all throughout the pandemic,” recalls Lee Hunt, owner of Deben Travel in Suffolk. “She came in and booked a


holiday to Crete with my colleague Abi and actually cried when it was booked. It was that much of a relief that she, in her words, now had ‘something to aim for, something to look forward to’.” This customer also phoned


Deben Travel a couple of times while she was on holiday to let them know what a great time she was having. “She said ‘I feel like a weight has


been lifted off my shoulders just being here – I feel like I can breathe again, and I haven’t been able to for the last 18 months’,” Hunt says.


Jo Richards, director of


Tivoli Travel, has also seen how important going away has been to holidaymakers. Speaking about some customers


she booked to Crete, Richards says: “You can see the absolute relief on their faces. They’ve been working hard like everybody else through lockdown and just needed a break.” Hunt adds that the pandemic has


made him realise that it can be easy to underestimate how important a holiday can be for some customers. “You have a conversation with


NEED HELP? If you, or someone you know, has been affected by a mental health issue and are seeking help or advice, contact Samaritans free of charge on 116 123


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HEALTH MATTERS


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