The popularity of foreign travel has grown since the 1970’s exponentially. As disposable incomes grew and airlines developed better technology, cheaper availability of travel and the development of airports around the globe, the travel industry boomed. As the option to visit more exotic and far away places became more within the financial reach of the average consumer travel companies soon began to realise the potential innovations that could be made to cater for the aspiring traveler. For many the idea of simply taking a flight to a foreign country, where the language and culture was very different, was a daunting experience.To overcome this concern of the average traveler Travel companies worked with airlines and hotels to create the package holiday (packages holidays page on Wikipedia). This would mean that they virtually take the tourist by the hand and cater for their every need in their holiday. They could select their travel destination, date, duration and hotel all well ahead of traveling. When the traveler arrived at the airport they would be met by a representative and escorted to their hotel.

As foreign travel became more common, and the average traveler became more adventurous and confident in their ability to navigate and cope in foreign climates, many did not want to be restricted by the package holiday. This opened a new potential market for the travel industry and the fly–drive holiday was born. In this choice of travel package the traveler would select a destination, date and duration as before and the holiday company would organize a flight and a car rental for the traveler and exclude the hotel accommodation. This gave the holidaymaker the opportunity to reach their destination and, by having a car rental organized, have the freedom to explore the region and stay at numerous locations of their own selection and at their own extra cost. This option proved hugely popular and today the fly-drive option is still an extremely popular choice for anyone choosing his or her holiday.