Commentary: Omicron wrecked holiday plans but benefits of long overseas vacations are overstated

Buoyed by similarly cheering travel news, many of my friends were also making getaway plans. Some were desperate to see far-flung relatives. Others just wanted to escape a grey London winter.

All this might still happen. Or it might not.

At the time of typing, the world is still in Omicron limbo, waiting for scientists to say if the variant is likely to cast us back to the remorseless uncertainty of 2020, or not.

Either way, the idea of a holiday has become vastly more complicated. The good news is, this is not as disastrous as it might seem.

DON’T NEED A LONG HOLIDAY TO ENJOY A BREAK

There is no getting around the fact that vacations can make us feel more satisfied, happy and energetic, especially while we are having them.

But you do not need to go on a long holiday, or a foreign one, to enjoy the boost of a break.

The effect of a short vacation is just as strong as that of a longer one, some studies have shown, and getting away for less than five days is still a powerful way to improve health and happiness. Also, you do not need to go far.

“There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that domestic vacations are no less enjoyable than international vacations,” says Dr Ondrej Mitas, a senior lecturer at the Breda University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands who studies the psychology of leisure experiences.

“And vacations by car or rail are no less enjoyable than vacations by air.”