Long haul holidaymakers should get inoculated

Holidaymakers taking long haul trips should look into getting inoculated against potentially potent diseases as soon as they book their travels, one expert has advised.

According to the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), which represents over 5,500 travel agencies and 900 tour operations throughout the British Isles, getting inoculations is an important procedure and should not be put off by needle-shy travellers.

The Kuoni Long Haul Report 2009, which was published last month, revealed that the Maldives was the top-selling long haul destination in 2008, while the runner-up was Thailand, which saw its diversity tempting a wide range of travellers to visit.

In third place was Egypt, which is ideal for tailor-made holidays with its culture, history, year-round sunshine and fascinating cruising options.

New Zealand and St Lucia were new entrants in the top 20 for 2009. Kuoni also identified Kenyan safaris, high-end five-star and three-star all-inclusive breaks in Mauritius and luxury beach and spa hotels in Thailand as options that are growing in popularity.

However, each of these destinations has its own travel requirements, in terms of visas and inoculations, and holidaymakers should enquire into this at the time of booking, according to Abta.

Sean Tipton, a spokesperson from Abta, gave Brits some holiday advice for 2009, the year the UK officially announced that it is in recession.

He said: "[Always] try and book it [your holiday] as early as possible and that way you will get the best deals.

“Also, if you are going on a long haul holiday, often for the countries concerned, you are going to have to be inoculated against various diseases.”

According to the Royal Mail Group's Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer, published January 5th 2009, Thailand is the cheapest long haul destination for eating and drinking out once on location, beating Spain by 41 per cent less than Spain.

South Africa, where sterling is still stronger than a year ago, was highlighted as another good option for holidaymakers, as long with fellow African nation Kenya, which is trying hard to claw back its share of the holiday honey pot after post-election riots devastated the tourist market in 2008.

Mr Tipton reminded holidaymakers that getting a cheap deal is not the only thing to consider when booking a break.

He advised: “The further a field you go, it is not much more likely you are going to encounter problems but you are in a much more alien environment and if you are on a package holiday, your tour operator will look after you.”