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Despite the popularity of email, social networking sites and text messages for keeping in touch nowadays, 130 million postcards are expected to be sent this summer.

New ABTA research released last week found that more than a third of us turn off our mobile phones and other communications devices when we're on holiday and that 53% of people would prefer to receive a handwritten postcard than an electronic message.

The survey of 3000 UK adults highlighted the affection that the British have for the traditional holiday postcard, with 26% of us keeping all the postcards we receive.

Donna Dawson, psychologist, said: “Picture postcards will always beat emails, texts and SNS messages, because they are something that you can hold in your hand and observe close up, utilising both the senses of touch and vision, and thus triggering the pleasure-centres of the brain more quickly. They also create a stronger emotional response than the newer methods of communication, and tie in with a long and sentimental history of traditional seaside holiday postcards.

“A postcard becomes a souvenir of a person or persons at a particular time and place, as well as a physical reminder that someone has gone to the time and trouble of selecting, writing and posting you something. And in these technologically fast-moving times, that is something to be treasured.”

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA, said: “Postcards are integral to British travel culture no matter where we are in the world. They provide an intriguing and very personal glimpse into someone else’s experiences away from home and travellers can’t resist telling their friends and family at home what a great time they are having without them!”

Brian Lund, Editor of Picture Postcard Monthly Magazine, said: “Postcards are a Great British tradition and it’s wonderful that people have such affection for them still, whether they’re travelling abroad or at home.

"The range of destinations for travel has broadened over time, as has the variety of postcards depicting these locations. Postcards continue to be a great way to share our tales of travels with people elsewhere in the world.”

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Written by: Maxine Clarke, August 3 2009

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