UK Ferry Tickets

Forget the fact that Wayne Rooney may, or may not, have deserved that red card off or that penalties are such a cruel way to decide a game.

Don’t dwell on the fact that we had a tactically inept manager who never seemed to know his best system and preferred to select a schoolboy with a provisional licence ahead of a proven goalscorer.

The plain truth is that we were not good enough. Golden generation, my backside! We were one of the few teams in that tournament that did not, at any time, play with fluidity or look remotely like a potent force.

As I stared blankly at the television set, pondering this truth with another half-consumed pint in my hand, I realised that the only English people who could see any silver lining on the cloud overhanging Gelsenkirchen were travel company bosses.

It’s well known that during a football tournament, people stay at home. Of course, they could watch the matches abroad, but most prefer to support the boys in familiar surroundings.

This presents a huge conundrum for travel executives, particularly those who are passionate football fans.

In truth, most would have loved England to have won the World Cup. Not only would they personally have been delighted, but the feel-good factor in the country would probably have led people to throw money around on celebratory holidays as if it was going out of fashion. The dip in bookings during the four weeks of the tournament would have been more than compensated by the huge increase in business, post July 9.

But, if England can’t win it (and let’s be honest, that was pretty evident after the first match against Paraguay), they would prefer the adventure to be over as quickly as possible and normal service resumed.

So what has happened since last Saturday?

I’ve been talking to lots of travel companies and they’ve all reported a big jump in bookings. Not much happened on Sunday, perhaps because people were hungover or still disappointed and perhaps because the weather was so good, it kept people outside.

But since Monday, lots of would-be holidaymakers have decided it’s time to get away (most prefer to book up in office time, as revealed in a previous newsletter). Interestingly, websites are reporting a huge increase in traffic, along with a steady rise in bookings, which suggests people are looking around.

That’s fine, we all shop around. At the moment, there are still plenty of deals to be found. But the school holiday period is on the horizon and, as we progress through the summer, bargains will be thinner on the ground and holidaymakers will not be able to be so choosy.

If you haven’t booked yet, my advice is to do so quickly – and escape the post-World cup gloom.

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore

Monday, July 31st, 2006