But now it's a different story – you can celebrate the traditional holiday in a variety of unconventional ways. If you want – in Paris under the Eiffel Tower, if you want – in Rome at the Colosseum or under palm trees on one of the paradisiacal Pacific islands. The variety beckons, especially since we have been given generous holidays. So the almost-New Year tourist happily picks up the phone to call a travel agency and... Of course, there are no spots left.
Yes, all decent New Year tours were snatched up and paid for back in October. In early December, consulates of European countries stop accepting visa documents because they are swamped with work – they need to manage to process those who have already submitted passports before the Christmas holidays, which begin on December 25.
Visa-free countries remain, of course. But those wishing to go to Egypt or Turkey will be calling agencies in vain. In Egypt, there are practically no spots left for our tourists since autumn – everything has been bought up by Europeans, for whom the fall of the dollar has turned into an opportunity to have a good and inexpensive vacation. And in Europe, they plan their vacations far in advance – about a year in advance. It's hard for us to compete with Germans and the British in this. Turkey has been 'snapped up' by the same Europeans and our more enterprising and organized compatriots.
Those who think about celebrating New Year on the islands of the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean should not only hurry but also weigh their wallet carefully. The rise in aviation fuel prices has already caused an increase in airfare, especially noticeable on long-haul flights. The cost of kerosene is growing every day, tickets are getting more expensive every week. Already on Pacific routes, some companies are adding €100 to the previous price, and there is less than a month left before the holiday.
Those intending to go to Europe should remember that locals are also preparing for the holiday. That means they will try to leave home as early as possible and close everything they can. We can understand them – after all, we also rush home on December 31. And some people successfully leave on December 29 to set off on a New Year trip. And such people are increasing every year, in all corners of the planet, even in those where we are planning to go on vacation. And the working restaurants and cafes there will be filled with crowds of tourists, waiting long and tediously for someone to pay attention to them and bring them, at a triple price, another bottle of champagne.
So travelers who have managed to obtain the coveted documents, buy a tour, and set off to meet adventures and impressions on New Year's Eve will have to overcome many obstacles. First, they need to brave the congested road to the airport, because the pre-New Year days are a time when everyone is going by car, bus, or minibus to buy gifts and Christmas decorations, outfits, and delicacies. It's better to keep quiet about what is happening in the stores, but on the roads (by the law of meanness, they are the ones leading to large chain supermarkets and simultaneously to airports) there will be traffic jams, or rather, multi-kilometer gridlocks. So you should leave for your vacation early. Even if you arrive long before check-in begins, it will only benefit you. After all, the same lines are at airports – of course, hundreds of thousands of our compatriots go to celebrate every year. And all, as a rule, start their vacation at the same time.
Do not think that by successfully overcoming the check-in queue and having a pre-paid air ticket in hand, you are guaranteed a seat on the plane. As is known, overbooking happens not only in hotels. In the struggle to fill flights, airlines sell slightly more tickets than they should, rightly assuming that someone will cancel their trip, someone else will be late – after all, the plane shouldn't fly empty. What is quite justified in the low season turns into a disaster every year before the New Year holidays – there are not enough seats on the plane for everyone. And even if a backup plane picks up tourists a few hours later, the start of the holiday will be ruined.
Not to mention cases when a plane does not take off for technical reasons, and a backup plane gets stuck due to weather conditions – the entire chain of charters is disrupted, and the situation looks like a real catastrophe. Many companies have problems with backup aircraft, and the past season clearly showed how tourists suffer from an aging air fleet.
But enough about the sad stuff. Let's remember the New Year fun. Customs and passport control have been passed, the silver-winged plane has already closed its doors and is about to taxi onto the runway... Sometimes this 'about to' can stretch into several more hours. And not even because of the weather or a faulty engine. It's simple – in the pre-New Year period, planes take off and land with minimal time intervals: too many tourists, too many planes. As a result, passengers have to wait a long time for their turn to take off. And to land, by the way, as well. It's hard to say what is harder: waiting to take off, or circling over a foreign city, wondering what the hell... Oh yes, you were drawn by adventures and unusual impressions. Enough for a year ahead.
Those who are lucky enough to land still face an obstacle course in the form of passport control, a 'fortune' battle for hotel check-in (after all, tourists fly to celebrate, they need to save on something, right?). And also – a pre-ordered New Year's dinner with a strange menu without potato salads and vodka, smoking bans in public places, and unfamiliar faces on TV screens uttering strange speeches. In a word, real 'Fun Starts' where the prize is just participation and the opportunity to tell colleagues later: 'I celebrated New Year in Paris.' And a reason to ponder – is the game worth the candle?
Vitaliy MIROV.
Turist.ru