There was a time when “Want to go away this weekend?” meant one duffel bag, two nights, and a half-tank of gas to get you across the state line.

These days, it seems, agreeing to the same question could land you in Bangkok for 24 thrilling hours sandwiched between two long-haul flights.

The long-haul mini-break isn’t a new concept—it’s been popular with affluent, time-strapped travelers for years—but according to one recent study in the UK, the phenomenon is predicted to grow by over 33% in 2008. And the 4.9 million British tourists expected to land in (and, in short order, take off from) places like Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro represent just a fraction of the baggy-eyed weekenders skimming the world’s greatest destinations to rack up bragging rights—and material for their carbon footprints.

In that vein, Guardian writer Simon Mills lumps these travelers together as a band of “childless, hedonistic, carbon foot-stomping, no-sleep-'til-Monday-morning City boys.” But can you really blame a traveler willing to suffer to make the most of what little vacation time he is given? A traveler collecting tips from Mills’ own publication, known to publish a series called “Long-haul short breaks” that outlines what to do if you find yourself with 4 days in Oman, Cape Town, or Kenya?

I understand the environmental implications of these trips, and I must admit that I absolutely cringed when a friend told me she jetted to Tokyo for a few days of (shoe-) shopping. But I also understand what it’s like to stare at a great, big, beautiful globe with a lifetime’s worth of wanderlust and only months’ worth of vacation days. Where do you fall on the subject; would you see the world one three-day weekend at a time, or is the long-haul mini-break simply endangering the world for all of us?