iPads and tablets emerge as our favourite holiday gadgets

In times gone by, a bucket and spade and a sea view were all that was needed to turn a good holiday into a great one. Fast forward to the 21st Century and no holidaymaker worth their salt would head off on a break without their range of gadgetry alongside them.

Now a new survey by Royal Caribbean has revealed which gadgets travellers are most likely to make room in their suitcases for, with iPads or other tablets (47%) topping the list.

The ranking of ‘must-have’ holiday gadgetry continued with the following tech-packed items:

• Smartphones - 53%
• Nintendo DS and games consoles - 20%
• Laptops - 25%
• Kindles - 20%
• iPods/ music devices - 31%
• DVD players - 13%

And it seems that we are not just bringing our devices on our breaks to keep up with the holidaying Joneses, instead we are carving out vast swathes of our holiday time to dedicate to posting social media updates about our holiday adventures.

The survey revealed that on average a family will send four texts, two personal emails, two work emails, one Vine, two Snapchats, four Instagrams, three tweets, four images on Pinterest and four Facebook updates on a one week holiday.

With so much time spent glued to our gadget screens, it’s a wonder that modern travellers get any time to indulge in traditional holiday pursuits such as enjoying an ice cream by the beach or writing a holiday postcard.

Thankfully, holidaymakers are prepared to make some holiday occasions a gadget-free zone and this includes the following:

• Meal times – 39%
• Day trips – 27%
• By the pool - 21%
• On the beach – 14%

Commenting on the survey findings, Jason Bradbury, host of Channel 5’s The Gadget Show, said: “The survey says the times when it is most inappropriate to be using technology are family meal times, the beach and sightseeing trips but I disagree.”

He continued: “The mayhem that is meal time with my four, six, and nine-year-old kids is so stressful that pretending that I absolutely must reply to something on my phone is my only get out.

‘Seriously though, I think it is important to see this is kind of technology as an enabler, as a much more efficient replacement for the postcard or the polaroid.’

If you are heading off on holiday, why not use your mobile device to book your travel insurance?

Date Created: 16/10/2014