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.”

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以前，疲惫的游客还会为了享受自我充电、把皮肤晒成棕褐色和徜徉在日光浴浴床的乐趣而在节假日出行。

然而，我们现在似乎更愿意和亲朋好友网聊打发时间，不大会凝望远方或畅游在书的世界里。

新的调查显示，度假者休闲时平均每天登陆社交网络或浏览其它喜欢的网址最少一个小时。

事实上，我们因过于沉溺网络，一项新的节日烦恼——酒店和度假区对wi-fi收费——已成为我们比较熟悉的担忧之一，促使游客拿起投诉和酒店预定条款来为自己争取免费wi-fi服务。

本次调查是由住宿集团蓟花酒店发起的，针对游客在节假日里常见的抱怨，邀请了2000人参与。

排在第一位的依然是酒店服务员脸上像贝塞尔•弗尔蒂（英国某情景喜剧中的人物）不甚耐烦的表情。69%的受访者认为酒店员工态度粗鲁是导致他们不满意的主因。

45%的受访者认为，居第二位的是，到了假日酒店，却发现你订的房间还在清理之中，。

38%受访者认为，酒店服务落伍排在第三位，比如，别的地方wi-fi早已免费，可你住的酒店却要收费。

其它节假日抱怨包括，假日酒店自助餐种类少（占受访者的37%），酒店距离目的地景点和餐馆比广告说的远（32%）。

即使我们计划好好度个假，也必须得上推特逛逛，在“选择某处阳光度假地时最重要的考虑因素是什么”一栏中，这一点表现得非常明显。

过半受访者（51%）认为，免费wi-fi 对享受度假至关重要，比酒店有游泳池（49%）、离目的地景点距离近（41%）和房间内有电视（37%）还重要。

蓟花酒店的马克∙ 德诺玛说，“2014年，酒店还要对wi-fi收费，想起来都让人崩溃！”

“我们的研究表明，免费wi-fi对度假者非常重要。”

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