AMERICANS SKIP VACATION – WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

In USA Today Travel online articles there was a survey done by Radisson Hotels that revealed Americans skip taking their vacation days. As it is Americans only have 18 vacation days a year compared to Europe who takes 1 to 3 months off for vacation every year. What reasons could we have for not enjoying life? You guessed it…. Our workload! I’ve been conducting a little poll of my own on this same topic for the past few years and have met so many people that have not had a vacation in 10 years or worse… ever! When asked why they say they don’t want their boss to discover that someone else can do their job, or they are already over-loaded and any time away would bury them and make it impossible to catch up. Then there are the cost issue and instead of $5,000 for a family trip to Disneyland they need to paint the trim on their house or put in new plumbing. It’s no wonder we have so many stress related illnesses and people snapping and doing crazy things. Vacation time is vital to recharging your soul. If all you do is work, sleep, and work with no true rest and relaxation to reward your work efforts then the subconscious message is one that in my opinion spells DEPRESSION. Life is about so much more than stuff and things. It is about experience and feelings and learning… all of which travel supplies. I don’t care if you’re a 5-star traveler to Europe or a missionary traveler building bottle schools in a third world country or a backpacker through the National Parks, any travel always results in adding experiences and new information into your life. There is also research that shows how not taking vacation days and truly going on a vacation increase your chances for a heart attack. There is research that shows how those who take vacations are actually more productive just before and just after a vacation. As a travel host I see a lot of people on vacations and find that couples who do vacation regularly are the happiest individuals and the best marriages I see. Anyway, I encourage work/life balance and I believe travel for pleasure is a remedy for many things…. And that is another conversation. Do you take your vacation days? Why or why not?