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PERSONAL FINANCE: TRAVEL Now The Cat Is Out Of The Bag Remember the zany ad promising you an out-of-this-world holiday abroad that you nearly fell for. Well, before pulling out that cheque book of yours, try reading this primer. By Shilpa Nayak
Two of India's better tour operators, SOTC and Cox & Kings, hold forth the promise of a free holiday abroad every year for the next five years for anyone who signs up for a Europe-package with them this summer. In SOTC's case, customers have to become members of the Let's Go Holiday club (annual fee: US $150). That's the first cost consideration: a membership fee of US$150 per year over the next five years. That's one of the options in Cox & Kings' offer (becoming a member of the Travel Club in return for an annual fee of $150 and taking five free holidays over the next five years). The other is to say no to the free holidays thingamajig and instead avail a $250 discount on the Europe tour you're embarking on, and a $150 loyalty voucher redeemable against holidays you take with the company (valid for three years; can't be encashed; can't be transferred) in the future. Those Other Charges
Then there are the other costs. Like those associated with the free holiday itself. Typically, free holidays are two-night, three-day affairs. For instance, if you decide to check out Sydney on one of these, you check into the hotel around noon on Day 1, and check out after breakfast on Day 3. Thus, you get just around a day-and-a-half to visit Fox Studio, or the Imax theatre, or take a tour of the city. Worse, the hotels where you will be put up in these free holidays are usually far away from the city-centre, and travel costs could run high. That's cost consideration two. Add to that the cost of food (the free package includes breakfast, nothing else), $50 a person for airport transfers, $150 a person as surcharge if the destination happens to be Sydney, visa charges, medical insurance.... Whoa! Worse, everything, visas, purchase of foreign exchange, and that of medical insurance, has to be done through the same tour operator. If you think (and you should) that the duration is too short, you can opt for a pre-designed add-on. You will have to pay for that, of course. And oh, if you forget to renew your club membership on time, you have to shell out $50 in late-fee. The Fineprint, Stupid Thomas Cook charges approximately the same as SOTC and Cox & Kings for an Europe-package, but it doesn't believe in freebies. ''We believe in value for money,'' says Sunil Gupta, head of Thomas Cook's holidays division. ''No freebies. And no gimmicks.'' Fine, but would you want to opt for a package tour? ''Tours are for the mentally challenged,'' says Karl Dantas, the Managing Director of Bombay Travels. But if you want to go on one, he suggests, and Europe is your preferred destination, why not try out European agencies like Cosmos or Trafalgar who know their Europe. The man has a point. Packaged tours, per se, are not a great way of travelling and getting to know a country and its people. And there's a huge gap between what operators advertise and what customers eventually end up with (See What They Say May Not Be What They Mean). But there are those who swear by them. Still, if it is the prospect of free holidays for five years that is going to be the decisive factor in your decision to (or not to) opt for a Europe-centric package, think long and hard before signing the cheque. And do read the small print. |
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It's half
past six on a Monday morning, you're going through the day's papers
groggy-eyed and all when you spot an ad that causes you to spill the
morning cup of coffee onto your lap forcing you into a state of
wakefulness. ''Free holidays abroad for five years,'' screams the ad and
you're hooked. Some of them may use variants, like ''Free five-year
holidays abroad'', but it means the same thing (and not a holiday that
lasts five years-forgive them, they're tour operators not writers): opt
for a package, say a 14-day European holiday, and get a free holiday
abroad every year for the next five. Before you rush for your cheque book,
though, try and understand the real cost of these free holidays. But
first, get some anti-burn cream on.