Helping everyone to have a holiday

A proper holiday can bring many benefits to low-income and socially excluded people, recent research has shown.

A study carried out by academics in the UK has shown how holidays can produce better mental health and general well-being among disadvantaged groups.

“This study...has shown that for a modest investment in terms of time and money, holidays can facilitate significant increases in social and family capital for the participants,” the report says.

Part of this increase in social and family capital includes better family relations, an increase in confidence, expansion of the social network and a changed perspective on life.

Additional benefits reported by the study include stronger relationships between parents and children after the holiday.

Children were reported as doing better at school and parents were seen to be more willing to spend more quality time with their children.

The study was published in the journal Annals of Tourism Research and carried out by Dr Lynn Minnaert and Prof Robert Maitland, of the University of Westminster and Dr Graham Miller of the University of Surrey.

These finding will benefit projects such as Belgium's Holiday Participation Centre, run by Tourism Flanders & Brussels, which helps provide holidays for disadvantaged people and families living in poverty.

The Holiday Participation Centre consists of 950 member organisations, including social services, volunteer groups and family guidance services.

The centre also organises training, consultation and evaluation to help improve social tourism, and recently carried its own survey, together with Dr Minnaert, into the effects of a holiday for people living in poverty.

"More than half of those surveyed...felt mentally stronger after the holiday. For this group, the holiday appears to be able to have a motivating effect on various aspects of daily life after returning,” the report says.

“On this basis, social tourism can be seen as a cost-effective form of intervention.”

“Holidays are necessary because they increase self-respect and create confidence, improve communication and consolidate family ties,” the report concludes.

The UK report, “Tourism and social policy: the value of social tourism”, can be downloaded here.

More information about the Holiday Participation Centre, including the survey, can be found in this brochure.