Peak holiday feeling arrives on day two and it’s downhill from there

There’s nothing we won’t sacrifice for that week in the sun. Christine Manby looks at how we can extend the benefits of the holiday glow

As a nation, we’re taking fewer holidays than usual (Getty/iStock)

That moment we’ve been looking forward to all year is finally upon us: the summer holiday season. The bad news, even if you’ve got a whole fortnight on the beach to look forward to, is that research commissioned by travel company TUI suggests you’ll reach “peak holiday feeling” by the end of day two and it’s all downhill from there. Less than a week after you get back, it’ll be as though you’ve never been away.

As a nation, we’re taking fewer holidays than usual. Abta, the Association of British Travel Agents, reported a fall in the number of trips taken between 2017 and 2018 – from an average of 3.8 to 3.4 a year. Economic uncertainty might account for some of the drop off but Abta also discovered that we’ll cut back on almost anything before we’ll cut back on our “holibobs” (personally, I’m cutting back on people who say “holibobs”).

We’ll give up booze, cigarettes, eating out… all the things that make the working week just about bearable. There’s nothing we won’t sacrifice for our moment in the sun. With that in mind, it seems more important than ever to make sure those days away count. So how can you hang on to that holiday buzz?

TUI’s report was drawn up by Dr Tali Sharot, director of UCL’s Affective Brain Lab. She and her team had the onerous task of conducting a survey of guests at the TUI Sensatori resort in the Dominican Republic.