"This is me on my last holiday ... honest!"
Photograph: GettyFancy a holiday to rival that of your most perma-tanned colleague? Or perhaps you're too busy to take a break this year? Then why not give Dmitry at Persey Tours a call? Pay $500 and you could be boasting about your exotic exploits in Ecuador faster than you can say Seychelles, but there's a catch.

According to the LA Times, the Moscow-based tour company, which was experiencing hard times a year ago, has hit upon a gap in the market: fake holidays. Tailor made for those who want the kudos of an expensive trip but don't have the means, Persey Tours provides fake ticket stubs and hotel receipts to fool the most eagle-eyed explorer, and will even doctor photos of clients in foreign destinations, as well as provide establishments to verify your existence, should anyone call.

With around 15 fake breaks being sold a month, business is booming, and as is to be expected from such skilled scam-artists, not even the sky's the limit. Dmitry Popov, founder and chief executive of the company, told the LA Times his company made $2,000 (£1,089) last year by helping a Siberian gas station owner fabricate a flight to the moon on the Russian space shuttle.

So could the idea catch on in other places? And where would you choose to go? On an Alaskan cruise? A Brazilian beach break? Or perhaps a Mars space mission? Given such limitless choice, it's hard to decide, but just be careful to get your skin colour right when you return. I've heard you can get a fierce tan up on Pluto.