Half of All Americans Need Help Planning Vacation

One out of two Americans need help using their vacation days, as juggling work, personal and children’s schedules deter them from planning out their time off.

According to Project; Time Off, a coalition of travel industry companies promoting vacation travel, uncertainty with personal schedules (64 percent), work schedules (57 percent), and children’s schedules (50 percent) are significant obstacles to American adults.

Adults who set aside time each year to plan out their vacation days use more of their vacation time, take longer breaks, and report greater happiness than non-planners with their relationships, health and well-being, company, and job, Project: Time Off said. This year’s report was based on 2,076 U.S. employees who earn paid time off.

About a quarter of employees fear that their boss would not approve of them asking about all their plans for the year up front (27 percent), even though an overwhelming majority (78 percent) of managers say it would be helpful to know their direct reports’ vacation plans at the start of their company’s fiscal year, and think that employees who share their plans that far in advance are being responsible (88 percent).

Nearly half (48 percent) of employees give six weeks or less notice when taking at least a week off and just 19 percent give three months or more.

Each year, Project: Time Off schedules the release of its survey and other events around National Plan for Vacation Day, the last Tuesday of January every year. The organization estimates that Americans have 662 million unused vacation days and the travel industry misses out on a $236 billion contribution to the U.S. economy.