無免費Wi-Fi成游客抱怨新問題

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Not so long ago, the weary tourist would head off on holiday for the simple pleasures of recharging their batteries, topping up their tan and relaxing on a sun-lounger.

Now, it seems, we are more likely to spend our time away catching up online with friends and acquaintances than gaze at the horizon or the contents of a good book.

A new study has found that the average holidaymaker spends at least an hour a day of their down-time logging on to social media portals or checking other favourite websites.

In fact, so obsessed are we with the online world that a new holiday annoyance – hotels and resorts charging for wi-fi access – has joined the more familiar worries that can have travellers reaching for complaint forms and their booking terms and conditions.

The survey was conducted by accommodation group Thistle Hotels, which asked 2000 people about their regular holiday peeves.

The top frustration was still the issue symbolised by the manic face of Basil Fawlty, with 69 per cent of those questioned saying rude hotel staff were their key bone of contention.

Arriving at your resort to find that your room is still being cleaned, and is not ready, was the second most common concern – suggested by 45 per cent of respondees.

But a sign of changing times is there at number three, with a very modern complaint – being forced to pay for wi-fi – causing grumbles with over a third of people (38 per cent).

Other widespread holiday flashpoints included a poor selection of food at the resort buffet (37 per cent of those questioned) and a hotel being further from a destination’s attractions and restaurants than advertised (32 per cent).

Our determination to be tweeting and liking even when we are supposed to be taking a break from the norm is also apparent in the survey’s list of what are considered to be the most important elements of a stay at a place in the sun.

Over half of the respondees (51 per cent) said that free wi-fi is crucial to their enjoyment of their escape – ranking higher than a hotel having a swimming pool (49 per cent), being close to a destination’s attractions (41 per cent) and offering in-room TVs (37 per cent).

“It’s crazy to think that, in 2014, hotel chains are still charging for wi-fi,” says Mike DeNoma of Thistle Hotels.

“Our research shows that free wi-fi is very important to holidaymakers.”