Travel brochures from the 1950s
Before the 1970s when cheap air fares and package holidays truly democratised holiday-making, it tended to the better off, or the middle classes (and that’s arguably the same thing), who were likely to take their holidays in Europe or even further afield.
But how did people holiday before the 1970s, particularly those who wanted to stray beyond our borders? The chance donation by the Lindsay family of Dublin, of travel brochures from the 1950s, was a good opportunity to test this. One option was the organised coach holiday. We have brochures offering European tours over many days and taking in lots of countries. For example, Melia offered tours in Spain and Portugal. Elsewhere, Pullman Tours from 1955 offered eleven ‘glorious itineraries’. One of these was for nine days, touring France and Switzerland, leaving and returning to London – all for £41 10s – and this included hotel accommodation. Thinking of the average wage at the time, when a take-home wage in double figures was unusual for most, this was an expensive break. You could pay more though, as seen by Lammin Tours. Their nearest equivalent was 14 days in France and the Riviera – all for 91 guineas.
Tourists were starting to enjoy the benefits of travellers’ cheques, and American Express were a big and reliable name in this market. Amongst the brochures are some for American Express, promising security if you use their travellers’ cheques. But clearly this was still an unusual method of carrying money, because the brochures give a useful primer for those who hadn’t used such things before, explaining where you would need to countersign to get your local currency.
Spain, Greece and other countries had hardly had time since the end of the war to gear up for the new tourists. The 1954 brochure by the Greek tourist board describes a country that seemed a little bewildered that anyone should be interested in visiting. The folded single sheet described ‘some places of interest’ which included Athens, Corfu and Crete, identifying a few hotels with restaurants and assuring holidaymakers that connections can be made by train and motor car.
Air travel was becoming more affordable before the boom of the 1970s. The list of tariffs for Sabena, the Belgian carrier, reveal that in 1955 you could fly from Manchester to Geneva (via Brussels) for £17 single or £30 12s return. The airline covered most of the European capitals as well as the Belgian Congo and North America.
To ensure, though, that you didn’t have to risk bumping into tourists of the hoi polloi, there was the cruise. P and O offered round trips to Australia, Iberia and Japan. Meanwhile, the Union-Castle Steamship Co would take you to South Africa – a cabin-class return via Cape Town was £148. At that price, nicely exclusive.
