Fly to Amsterdam for less than a train ticket to Nottingham!

And it appears that thousands of people agree with me - the attraction of cheap flights to sunnier climes is just too strong to ignore.

Especially when, for the price of a new compact disc or DVD, you could be jetting from Leeds Bradford Airport to the likes of Malaga or Palma in Majorca.

More and more often, people are choosing cheap flights abroad over holidays in even the nicest parts of Great Britain.

And it is simply because flying abroad has become so easy.

So easy, in fact, that a growing number of people are looking on the internet for a flight, finding one for the next day and flying away at the drop of a hat.

But can you really blame people when it is actually cheaper to fly to Amsterdam than get a bus from Leeds to Gatwick or a train from Leeds to Nottingham.

And it is even only £3 cheaper to get a taxi from Leeds Bradford Airport to Ilkley than it is for a one-way ticket to Amsterdam.

The savings to be made on flights increased considerably in 1997 when the European Union reduced restrictions on competition and opened the door to a flurry of budget airlines.

But in the most recent years since then, the rise has really shown.

The nineties seem to have heralded a time for cheap flights and quick getaways and it is the turn of Yorkshire to offer discount deals on a no-frills airline.

Jet2 was launched last week at Leeds Bradford International Airport, meaning us Yorkshire folk don't have to venture all the way to Liverpool or cross the Pennines to Manchester for our cheap holidays.

Of course, the airport has offered some good deals in the past, and we all know about the possible expansion of the airport over the next 30 years, but it is only now that there are more regular, cheap flights to popular destinations.

In its first few days of being up and running, Jet2's website and phone lines were jammed with people scrambling for good deals.

Flights to Amsterdam start in February and in the following months, planes will travel to Milan from £32, Nice from £32, Malaga £19, Majorca from £19 and Barcelona from £22.

So for £60, two people could fly to Amsterdam on the spur of the moment.

If, on the other hand, you decide to travel from Leeds to London Kings Cross on the spur of the moment, it will cost £64 and even booked in advance it will cost £47.

For £58 you could travel from London to Amsterdam by bus but it would take five times as long as flying.

Obviously, it isn't that easy to compare travelling prices because of a whole host of circumstances.

Where do you stay when you get to your destination? How much spending money do you need? How much will it cost to get to the airport/ railway station/bus station?

But also it can be a matter of taste. For some people, sitting in an airport waiting for a flight certainly cancels out the benefit of having cheap travel.

For other people, (like me!), sitting in the airport is just the start of an exciting journey, and even on the return home, a wait in a foreign airport can be interesting.

Some people feel airsick just looking at an aeroplane, but will happily sit on a coach for hours on end.

It really is down to what you prefer - but at least we have the chance to make these tough choices, rather than just make the best of what is on offer.

But no matter how great the flight offers are, what effect will they be having at home on our tourism industry, which has already had a tough few years?

So the flights might be great for us people wanting a bit of cheap sunshine, or hoping to soak up some culture, but surely tourism bosses for the UK are biting their nails each time a low-cost airline is launched and new offers released.

Persuading people to leave the country rather than spending their brass in our towns and cities certainly can't be good for business and the economy.

But David Andrews, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Tourist Board, said that quite the opposite could be true.

He said that people aren't necessarily just travelling out of the country but into the UK's airports.

With the wonders of modern technology, it is easy for foreigners to log on to Jet2's website and book a holiday here and back.

Mr Andrews said: "Not only are low cost flights out of the region on offer, but so are flights into the region.

"I checked the web site this morning and came up with a flight from Amsterdam into Leeds Bradford on 12 February, just in time for Valentine's Day, costing £15.

"At those prices, we should see a fair amount of visitor traffic flowing into the region too."Steve Lee, Commercial Director for Jet2, agreed that tourism needn't suffer because of the new airline.

He said that it is more likely that people will pick up a travel bug in general rather than just choosing to go abroad.

"Really, it is like when videos came out, people thought that it would be the end of the cinema, but there was a boom that followed on at the cinema with the release of the video," he said.

"I think when people realised how different the two things were, they appreciated both and wanted to see films on video as well as at the cinema.

"I am not worried that people will be put off travelling around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland because when people visit other people's gardens they sometimes realise that what is in their back garden is just as good."

Mr Lee added that the airline was hoping to encourage people to be more spontaneous. He said: "We want to make these flights so that rather than think about booking a holiday for a few months in the future, people can be impulsive.

"It is great that people in Yorkshire can be impulsive now and just decide to go away at the weekend.

"It is now possible for people to decide on a Monday that they will spend the weekend in Milan or take a quick trip to Barcelona.

"The world has opened up to people and it is easy for people to explore all different parts of the world.

"Someone may go to the Italian lakes and then realise they have never visited the Lake District in the UK, so when they get back, they plan another trip."

So if you happen to have a spare £100 lying about in the New Year consider a trip away to get rid of the stresses of Christmas.

You could stay in Malaga for a night, Amsterdam for two nights or London for roughly half a day!