Yet another survey – this one from the massive InterContintal Hotels Group – suggests that the traditional “wish you were here” postcard is fast becoming an endangered species. According to IHG, today’s holidaymakers increasingly send their sunshine greetings by smartphone.
Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of InterContinental’s 10,000-plus respondents merely text their holiday greetings, while 32 per cent Skype friends and family back home.
Call me old-fashioned (and many people do!), but I cannot help but feel this is a trend that needs to be nipped in the bud. Writing postcards isn’t exactly taxing, and even if they often arrive long after the sender has returned home, they still bring a great deal of pleasure to the recipient.
Apart from anything else, an organisation called the Postcard Traders Association says that collectors will pay hundreds of pounds for rare examples. The same cannot be said of text messages.