We are all keen to ensure that our holiday is happy and healthy and these days there are many internet based ways of keeping up to date on holiday destinations, hotels and resorts.
Personal Facebooking
Facebook and social networking sites similar to it offer a window into the world. And one of the most prolific uses for such groups is to upload photos, blogs and comments. If you’re on Facebook then it is highly probable that you will have uploaded your holiday photos at some point or another.
If you’re a keen traveller you may be a blogger too and uploading the latest instalment to your Facebook followers can not only be entertaining for them but informative. Your followers will get a little news about you and your fellow travellers but also a wealth of information about the places you are visiting and, more importantly, the service you’re receiving in the hotels and accommodation you are staying in.
Groups and Pages
If you are a regular Facebooker then you will probably have joined a selection of groups. These are areas where you can choose to interact with likeminded Facebookers but not post your comments to the whole world. There are many groups which are focused around certain kinds of travel such as backpacking, student travel or even coach-surfing.
Pages are public sites which are open to followers and generally represent a company, organisation or individual.
The NHS, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and many tour operators all now have Facebook pages and regularly post updates and helpful tips for travellers and holidaymakers abroad.
If you are holidaying in a long-haul destination or a country where there may be a changing political situation, keeping up-to-date with what is happening can reassure and inform holidaymakers about which areas to visit and which to steer clear of.
The news is sadly full of stories about holidaymakers injured in accidents – or outbreaks of illnesses like holiday food poisoning from bacterial infections like salmonella.
Knowing that there is a food poisoning alert at your resort can help keep you safe if you step up personal hygiene practices like washing hands, using antibacterial hand-wipes to clean cutlery, and avoiding dirty public lavatories or bars with dirty tables and surfaces.
Among the useful pages on Facebook are: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Directgov and NHS Direct.
Facebook pages for specific destinations like Spain can highlight for you the members of your followers who have travelled there so you can ask them for their opinions directly.
If you have returned from your holiday with a sickness such as Salmonella poisoning and you were on a package holiday, you can make a claim against your tour operator.