Before the second World War, travel was difficult to organize, expensive and sometimes dangerous.
Nowadays, people can easily organize their next trip anywhere in the world through a travel agent. If you shop around, many travel agents can offer you cheap package tours to many popular destinations depending on the season. Air travel is generally more expensive towards the end of the year, during the Christmas and holiday season. This is the peak period for travel, and people often make travel reservations several months in advance. If you want to avoid peak travel periods, make your travel arrangements during the off-peak periods.
Off-peak periods are a good time to travel as it is usually quieter and cheaper. Sometimes, you can get air, sea or train tickets to see many popular tourist attractions in the world for half price!
Many young people try to avoid the crowd when they travel, and they often prefer to travel off the beaten track. They often have shoestring budgets and travel by hitch-hiking rather than public transport. They also like to stay at youth hostels and meet other young travellers.
Older people and families often have a bigger budget.
They usually like to go on packaged tours and have all of their travel arrangements organized by the tour operator. Families prefer to book their holidays at a resort, often near a lake or close to the beach, where there are lots of activities for the children to enjoy.
GLOSSARY:
avoid: evitar
off the beaten track: lugar onde poucas vão
budget: orçamento
shoestring : com pouco dinheiro
youth hostel : albergue
“...usually...”, indicates that they like to do it
