PLAN
A HOLIDAY!
Strengths and Weaknesses of Resources
Every information source has its own prejudices, its own strengths and weaknesses. Some travel guides emphasise well-worn tourist routes and expensive hotels, so choose your travel guides carefully. Friends and family may have different ideas about what is a suitable holiday for you and suggest only the type of holiday which they themselves enjoy.
Bias means one side is emphasised over another; the case is not presented fairly.
Ask who what why where when and how
• Who wrote the piece or who recommended it? Are they reliable? Do they know what they're talking about? Have they been there? If it's a published source, do you trust the publisher? is it a holiday brochure which has an interest or a bias in selling this place? Who do you want to go with?
• What are they describing? Is it the kind of holiday you really want - or is it just an easy option and you can't be bothered to look elsewhere? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the suggestions offered to you?
• Why is this holiday better for you than that one? Why do you turn up your nose at this one? Why do people regularly say that one is unsuitable?
• Where do you really want to go? Where fits in best with your life, your dreams, your savings?
• When can you go? When is it most convenient for you to go? When is the best time for that holiday, given the likely weather and when it's popular, high season or low season? Look at the date on the information - is it recent or out-of-date? (If there's no date, suspect it...)
• How are you going to get there? How will you afford it? How do you book?
Always use a range of sources
Avoid using just one source. Try to find the strengths and weaknesses of each source and balance them against each other
