Day trip

A day-tripper is a person who visits a tourist destination or visitor attraction from his/her home or hotel/hostel in the morning and returns home or to his/her hotel/hostel the same evening.

This article is about the recreational activity. For the transport company, see Daytrip. For other uses, see Daytripper.

The day trip or daycation is a popular form of recreation and leisure for families who care for young children or people who are too frail to travel easily or who own pets, or for whom the logistics or cost of a night away from home may be prohibitive.

Day trips are very popular with travelers who use a city as a homebase for going to different cities for the day and then returning in the evening, typically via cars, trains, boats, or aircraft. For example, a traveler staying in Zürich may depart for cities and towns such as Lucerne, Winterthur, or Zug in the mornings for the day and then returning in the evenings via a car or train. Travelers may also use commercial airline flights for day trips, specially to other areas or countries near the travelers' home region. One airline, Palmair of the United Kingdom, used to advertise day trips to nearby areas.

The advent of low fare airlines such as EasyJet, Ryanair and the United States' Southwest have also helped popularize day trips.

History

In Medieval days a destination for such days out would be religious (to a nearby shrine) or commercial, for example to a seasonal fair. Later, in England, visits to stately homes by those who regarded themselves middle class became frequent and it was the tradition to reward the butler or housekeeper with a tip for providing access to their employers' home. As such homes were meant for show it is unlikely that the owning family would object, provided they were not in residence at the time.

The arrival of the railway excursion, often using Day Tripper tickets, in the mid 19th century saw the blossoming of a distinctive day-tripper industry. Trippers also travelled in their thousands by paddlesteamer or steamship to the many piers around Victorian era seaside resorts. The General Slocum excursion was an example.

Cycling became a very popular day-tripper activity, especially amongst urban and suburban workers from the mid-1880s onwards.

Coach and charabanc outings followed as the internal combustion engine became reliable enough to get the paying customers out and back again. Works outings and church or chapel excursions were extremely popular until the 1970s.

While all of the foregoing still exist, the modern day-tripper experience is usually by motor car as a result of the growth of car ownership. Also, airlines such as Palmair promote day trips.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Indyplus video: Outnumbered - BBC". 5 March 2014.


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