Travel-industry news site Skift has been surveying U.S. vacation habits, and has come up with a new startler. In an online survey conducted in the first few days of 2015, they found that 41% of those surveyed took NO vacation at all in 2014! That’s too big a number to account for people who couldn’t afford to travel…MORE
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Is there a difference between those who can’t afford to travel and those who believe they can’t afford it, but could? I cannot tell you how many times those with far greater resources than I have said to me that they wished they could travel. The obvious reason is priorities, not lack of funds. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised it wasn’t higher than 41%. I’m also surprised at what they describe as “the other end of the spectrum”, those who took more than 20 days. A measly 20 days being considered a lot! Who ARE these people we live among?
You’re certainly right about the prioritiess and affordability; I’ve never understood, for instance, couples who put off having a glorious honeymoon in order to pay for a fancy wedding. Or who save for years for a big trip instead of camping with the kids while they are young…
At the other end, though, there are lots of people who’ve had very hard times the last few years, and may be cashing in vacation time for home repair or mortgage payment.
And as for the 20 days (4 working weeks)–while common in Europe, most Americans don’t get that much…sadly.
I think a lot of it is due to a bad economy. Many many working people out there are struggling and don’t have spare funds to take a family on a trip. Travel for 4 people is often 3-4 x as expensive as travel for one person.
And as PM points out, it’s also a matter of priorities. To some folks vacation means going in style, like staying at an all inclusive luxury resort, not just camping. I’m actually curious if the 40% who said they didn’t actually take vacation would even consider going camping or hiking for a weekend vacation?
Hard to say, but to me travel is a therapeutic activity. I do as much of it as I can, near home, across the country, and around the world. Have for years.
That’s the problem with surveys. Words mean different things to different people.