As the credit crunch continues to bite, more and more holiday makers are considering staying home over the holidays.

When typically this was the busiest time of year for travel agents, and everyone you saw had armfuls of colourful brochures, over the last 12-18 months things have become noticeably quieter.

More and more people are shunning the foreign holiday with it’s expense and large carbon footprint and sintead swapping it for the short of holidays they used to have as children. Whether it is a cottage in the countryside or a classic beachside holiday, people are going back to their roots and learning to appreciate the places they have far closer to home.

Have you considered becoming part of this ever-growing trend? If not, there are certainly plenty of benefits.

We’ve mentioned the ecological benefit of avoiding international air travel and the potential to save money but there are plenty more.

Here are just a few for you to consider:

1) Support Your Local Economy

It’s true that a certain amount fo money is flowing between countries but if you are able to stay home in your own country then all the money you spend will stay put. You will benefit other families just like you who will then be able to go on and spend this money elsewhere and so the whole roundabout goes on.

Spending in your own country helps to strengthen the economy and reduce the feeling of recession.

2) Share Holidays With Family And Friends

I’ve often thought how nice it would be to have a holiday with family or friends but inevitably foreign holidays are either overly expensive for larger groups or somebody you had in mind can’t get all the time off work.

However if you are taking a break closer to home suddenly this becomes less of a problem. We’ve mentioned that costs are lower, but you can also have people come and visit you for just a few days if they can’t manage longer. How great would it be for all your favourite people to drop in at some point over your two weeks away?

3) Relive Your Childhood

Go back to somewhere you remember visiting as a child and see how much it has changed (or otherwise!). Take a walk down memory lane and enjoy it. Not only can it be a moving experience for you, but showing your loved ones the places you used to visit as a child and holds so dearly can also be a wonderful experience for them.

4) Less Planning Required

You know about eating in your home country. You know about road loaws. You can take your own car. And so on. There is far less planning needed - and you know that if anything does wrong it’ll be far easier ot put right close to home. So save yourself all that time you normally spend planning everything - from how you’re going to access the internet to how much suncream you should take - and instead relax a little.

5) No Culture Shock

No need ot worry about changes in time zone. No jet lag. No strange foods (unless you ask for them!). You know you’ll be able to get your favourite foods and drinks. You know (roughly) what to expect from the weather. You don’t need to learn any local customs or brush up on any foreign languages which once again frees you to simply enjoy yourself instead of worrying and spending time over all the little things you forget you have to do before a holiday.