Canadians Don’t Use 20% Of Their Vacation Time

Photo: Patcard

Canadian travel agents take notice: You have a huge untapped domestic market.

Canadians received an average of 17.3 vacation days this year, but will use only 14 of them—amounting to nearly 31 million unused vacation days—while another 27% of Canadians will go more than a year without taking a vacation, according to a new report.

Travel agents with clients in Quebec seem to have the most vacation-friendly potential clients. According to the survey, by Expedia.ca, Quebec residents took 16 days of vacation, versus 14 days by residents of “Atlantic Canada.” Opportunities abound for agents in other regions of the country, where, for example, Ontario and British Columbia residents use only 13 days, while Canadians living on “the Prairies” use 14 days.

According to Expedia Canada’s “Vacation Deprivation” survey, an additional 36% of Canadians have gone six months to a year without a break, despite the fact that 68% “consider vacation travel a necessity, not a luxury.”

In fact, 55% of Canadians responding to the survey consider themselves “vacation deprived,” meaning they feel they either don’t get enough time off or are not taking some or all of their vacation days. By August, when the survey was fielded, 10% of Canadians said they had yet to take a single vacation day.

And if you believe Millennials are slackers compared to their older generations, think again. The survey found younger Canadians (age 18-34) rarely take all of their vacation days because they are too busy at work. They also feel guiltier about taking vacation days and they are more likely to check their work email and voicemail while on vacation, compared to older Canadians.

Why are Canadians depriving themselves? The top response (21%) was they can’t afford to take all the vacation days they are entitled to, although 17% said their work schedule doesn’t permit them to.

With all that work, if Canadians were offered only one holiday a year to get away, it’s no surprise what kind of vacation they would choose: lying on a beach relaxing, Expedia said.

“It’s no surprise Canadians consider beach destinations a top choice to spend their vacation time because an all-inclusive beach destination can help you more fully relax your mind and body,” said Beverly Beuermann-King, a Canadian work-life balance expert.

Social media use pervasive
But when they do get away, they use social media to inform their friends. According to Expedia, 45% of Canadian travelers share pictures of their vacation adventures on social media because it “validates their experience,” and another 43% say “it’s very important that they capture the perfect vacation photo for their social media posts.”

The share of Canadian travelers exhibiting this habit is on the rise—36% say they post to social media while on vacation, up from 28% last year.

These social media posts influence the decisions of younger Canadians. The survey found that 64% of respondents 18-34 are “likely to visit specific destinations that they’ve learned about through social media posts.”

Expedia’s survey, conducted by Northstar, reached 1,006 Canadian adults aged 18 and older who are employed or self-employed. Surveys were conducted between August 22 and August 31, 2016.