Tasha Dhanraj is keen to broaden her horizons

I keep seeing all these adverts on TV telling people about holidays we can have in Great Britain, which reminds me that I really need to get booking my summer holiday (in another country) as far away from Britain as my pocket will stretch to.
Britain is great and there is no escaping it, but so is Germany, Spain, Morocco and all the other countries that I can get cheap flights and accommodation to. Fact is, 2012 is probably going to be one of the priciest times to go on holiday in green, old Blighty.

While it’s all fair and good to say let’s go to Yorkshire on holiday, fact is – a train to Yorkshire can set you back over a hundred quid if you’re not careful. Plus, you’ve got to travel all the way across London to get your connecting transport, which, as we’ve all been warned, will be a little tiny piece of Union Jack splattered Hell during the Olympics. Flights to mainland Europe can cost about £30, plus Gatwick airport is only a short hop and a skip away from the lovely and perfectly located Brighton without having to set foot anywhere near the heaving sweat parade of the London Underground with a suitcase.

“Life’s too short to not explore the world”

We aren’t the only country to be getting these British tourism funded posters and adverts. They’ve been put all over the world. That’s right – even if you flew to the other side of the hemisphere then you wouldn’t escape them! If they work as intended, then all over the country there will be tourists from home and abroad desperately searching for picturesque cottages, quaint B&Bs and luxury hotels. The prices will rocket and more than ever the most financially viable option will be to go abroad. Those adverts have done nothing to persuade me, apart from suggesting that Britain is the best place to stalk Stephen Fry this summer.

I’m all for patriotism, but this isn’t about singing the national anthem while waving a Paddington Bear above my head. This is about money and this is about experiences. If I go traipsing off to Cornwall then I’m going to find a bunch of English people, fish and chips and probably a Topshop. Life’s too short to not explore the world. Why limit yourself to spending one of your only holidays a year visiting a location that has a Tesco Express?

Britain is great, but the whole world in all its glory is phenomenal and at least in 2012, will most probably be cheaper.