Americans are taking fewer (and shorter) vacations

Madness! Maybe that is why people are constantly flipping their lid.
I have a fairly generous vacation package. I use every bit.

Before I retired, I had an ongoing Excel spreadsheet where I made a calendar and had ALL of my vacation days for the year tentatively marked off with captions, like “helping with new grand baby” or “Italy”. It was a fun “shopping” experience each year figuring out how we would spend our vacation days.

We did try to stretch our vacation days by taking a few nearby 3-day weekends in Washington or Oregon which didn’t use much travel time and were also nice.

There were a few people at work without a work/life balance who didn’t use vacation days, feeling like they must always be there (or always wanting to be there), similar to those who needed affirmation by talking about how many extra hours they worked that week. It would be sad if that is trending upwards. When I was at work, I was 100% at work, but when I was on vacation, I didn’t take work calls. It was healthy for me & for the company that I had people trained & lined up who could make decisions in my absence.

Update: thanks for the link to the article behind the paywall, David! I agree with the issue when the vacation days are lumped together with sick days. Our company did that for a few years, and it did affect how I planned vacation because we felt like we needed to keep days in reserve “just in case”. And a negative outcome from that method was that sick people were coming to work to not use precious vacation days. Fortunately, the company quit doing that method about the time they said we couldn’t carry over days from the previous year because it was affecting their financials, also.

Unfortunately the article is behind a paywall for me.

Sorry about that. Looks like the WaPo article is syndicated to some other newspapers. The Bend Bulletin (a local newspaper in the small town of Bend, Oregon) has it online here: The Bulletin: The mystery of the disappearing vacation day

It appears the small-town Oregon newspaper picked up the WaPo story because the article briefly references the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (a surprisingly beautiful place), which is not far from Bend. Other than inserting a lovely full color panoramic photo showing a portion of the John Day Fossil Beds, the WaPo artcile is reproduced in full there (the only bit missing is the vintage photo of tourists crowding a Catskills Mountain resort back in the 1970s that accompanies the original article; I believe you can see the original photo here if you're interested...but the photo carried by the Bend Bulletin is much more appealing).

Does it give an explanation for this unfortunate trend?

They cite some specific reasons and speculate about others based on research studies. None of the explanations mentioned should come as any surprise. The US has no federally-mandated guaranteed paid vacations, that's certainly a primary cause. The precipitous decline of labor unions is another (labor unions gave us the 40 hour work week after all). Other factors mentioned include an overall lack of job security, the perceived need to feel always connected via technology, and well-documented (but rarely openly discussed) job expectations to not take time off, "workplace culture", etc. They specifically mention that many workers do have a combined "PTO" allowance, but some feel it's necessary to "save" those days for emergencies (a by-product of the lack of other worker benefits guaranteed in other countries, eg childcare subsidies, paid family leave, etc.).

I found the article fascinating and well worth a read.

And yet people continually recite the "nobody wants to work anymore" fallacy.

Speaking just for myself I have several reasons for vacationing less even though my company grants me 30 days per year of combined vacation/sick leave (aka PTO). Firstly I was laid off for six months because of Covid and the near-max vacation time I had banked really helped us survive an taught me that having max vacation is pretty much a requirement these days just in case the worst happens. Secondly in inflation-adjusted dollars my take-home pay has decreased around 20% since I hit my peak in 2001 but even that doesn't tell the full story because the items that you really need (as opposed to optional ones) have inflated even worse. Thirdly vacation costs have gone up substantially, one only needs to look at tour costs from twenty years ago vs now to see they too have inflated faster than the CPI and way faster than salaries have risen. Fourthly may company has laid off so many people that having even one person on vacation risks the whole system failing. Lastly of course is Covid which has kept me from traveling more than 150 miles from home for three years with the exception of a 5 day trip to Montreal last year where the airlines required masking and the city had a low infection rate.

I don't expect any of these to be getting better anytime soon sadly...

I also can't access the article.

Does it only cover people with full time jobs? I wonder how the number of people piecing together part time jobs and/or gig work might be part of this.

That said, I was speaking to an American during a 30-night trip (2016). She was aggressively disapproving of the vacation time I was using. I laid it on thick to irritate her even more.

@Andea: Also available here if you are blocked by the WaPo paywall:
The Bend, Oregon Bulletin: The mystery of the disappearing vacation day

Not mentioned in the article: more people today cobble together multiple part-time jobs, with no one job being full-time, and also the jobs they do have lacking in benefits. And there is more "contract work" or self-employment now, meaning jobs with literally no benefits. For people who make their livings this way, a day off is out of their own pocket. The thought of going on a 2 week vacay is a fantasy world for them.

The cost of "travel" has gone up significantly just in the last few years with the reopening from the economic shutdown of 2020. From hotels to airfares, particularly if you are pricing a trip to Europe, have increased anywhere up to 40 percent since pre pandemic, based on the many trips to Europe I took in 2018-19 vs what I am seeing now...now that is something to get discouraged about, and I believe it is driving the decision that many of my fellow youngish retired friends are telling me that they have no plans to return to international travel anytime soon if ever, and it really has nothing to do with Covid, just the eye watering prices...

One issue that I did not see mentioned is that 63% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck

So if someone "chooses" to work instead of drawing accrued vacation, is that simply because they feel the absence is detrimental to their career? Or do they get additional pay?

@Andrea, if the employee is working for a company that provides vacation or PTO (personal time off), there’s no additional pay to forgoing their vacation time. The exception is when they retire or are laid off, some companies will give them a percentage of their pay for remaining PTO.

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal last month that said some companies are scrambling to get work done because workers are taking more vacation time than before Covid.

Jean, in, two of the schools I worked in, if you didn't take off(which administration discouraged), you lost it when you had accrued a certain number of days, and they did not pay you for the accrued days when you left. Of course, when a teacher is absent, they must leave a lesson plan for the substitute, which is often more work than actually being at school.

One issue that I did not see mentioned is that 63% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

Shocking. And in a country with almost no benefits to help working poor people.

My issue has been not wanting to pay for airfare (easily $1,000) for less than 3 weeks to Europe. I am sure 2 weeks would be "ok" but in my mind the flight is the same price regardless of how long you stay. I want to "get more for my money" by taking longer trips. For me, a good deal for a domestic flights from Texas are $250 or less. I think to justify only a week long trip to Europe the flight has to be around $500 which is usually only common in Jan-Mar and Oct-Dec (a no no for me and my dislike of clouds and cold).

I hesitated to respond to the comment about Boomers because I didn’t want to go off topic too far. I am often surprised at this anger against my generation for ??????

My husband and I worked hard. We did without so we could put our children through college and we did it without all of the government tax breaks and credits available to families today. We saved and planned for retirement.

Suddenly, we are the bad guys? I’m not sure why.

I’ve been at the same company for 42 years. We get 2 weeks vacation and 5 sick days. One case of a cold can use up your sick days for a year. So the vacation days get used for sick and other needed time off, such as dr appts.

Our last few trips to Europe (Germany/Austria have been in winter (good thing they have Christmas markets!) and I’ve used our companies 4 day Thanksgiving weekend as part of my vacation days. We normally go for 10 nights total.

David: The link to the Oregon paper is also behind a paywall.

I have always taken my vacations, sometimes 3+ weeks at a time, even though only 10% of coworkers took long time off like this. My observation is that most people didn't know how or are afraid to travel, and didn't go anywhere for those reasons. Also many have a cabin that consumes their money and time, although Scandinavians also have a cabin culture and still travel.

I, for one, am doing my part to raise those numbers .... added two trips this year to our usual 2! :)

Carol- the benefits of tax breaks and credits available today absolutely pale in comparison to the costs that have skyrocketed over 40+ year. From daycare to insurance deductibles to accessibly priced housing, to tuition at even public universities, I'm sure hard-working young families would gladly give up the child tax credit for the economic conditions previous generations enjoyed.

Scudder and AMann. Thank you for giving me your inputs. I appreciate hearing your perspectives.

David: The link to the Oregon paper is also behind a paywall.

Sorry, Tom. It was freely available the first dozen times I went there today, but now I see a popup/denial paywall. That said, I switched browsers and am able to access the article. It may allow a handful of views before setting a cookie, or there's a script running that blocks access after X number of views. Who knows, the IT staff at the Bend Bulletin may be wondering what the heck is driving all the new traffic today, and there may be geography-based licensing issues that the WaPo tacks on to articles they syndicate to other newspapers (that would explain why Andrea and Nick were unable to access it - licensing could be restricted to only US IP addresses - but Tom, I assume you're not on some Canadian internet service up there...).

Sometimes trying a different browser may resolve access issues on websites.

tuition at even public universities

I’m also a boomer but footing college costs today. In 1980 it was possible to wait tables 25 hours/week and cover all costs: tuition, fees, books, health care, housing, food. It’s all so much more now (like 4 times after inflation), the single major advantage to the positive today is Obamacare covers health insurance to age 26, before it was 22 (?). It was typical though for young adults to be uninsured.

Try this https://worldnewsera.com/news/entrepreneurs/analysis-the-mystery-of-the-disappearing-vacation-day/

I would also state a factor is the decline in interest of Americans visiting their own country. Having driven both the UP of Michigan and the Oregon coast and seen all the abandoned motels on the highway, it’s hard to not conclude there have been a declining number of vacationers.

Then of course, there is also the fact that a certain Boomer generation is still 8 times wealthier than any following generation, but may not be able to travel anymore, which translates to a drop since younger generations can't afford to.

Business Insider explains:

"This wealth gap is partially explained by the fact that boomers are older, so they've had more time to accumulate wealth. Millennials haven't yet reached their peak earning years, and the youngest are still earning entry-level salaries."

I suppose a certain amount of the boomer wealth will pass on to subsequent generations. I'm not sure I have any younger family members who merit receiving my "boomer wealth". Whatever we haven't spent will be given to civil rights organizations.

Reading these comments I feel really fortunate that my employer went to unlimited PTO in 2022. I took 6 weeks off last year & could take more. It's my understanding so long as you are performing your job well & not obviously abusing the privilege take what you need.
Now my coworker on my same team only takes 2-3 weeks per year. His wife only gets that much & he doesn't do anything without her.
I've heard more employers are shifting to this model because it actually saves them money. While there are folks like me who will take PTO there are more who barely take it for various reasons. They save money by not forcing a set number of days.

With all the knowledge ar our fingertips, thanks to Google, you would think that law makers would take the beat from each country.

The best vacation time
The largest homes
The lowest taxes
The best health care
The cheapest labor so are things cost less
The highest wages so we can have more of tge good stuff
The perfect family size
No pollution
Free energy

Just copy it all and mandate it by law. Simple.

Americans have to earn their vacations. Often, 4 weeks of vacations require 10 years of continuous employment. 2 weeks vacation is normal the first few years of work.

In Europe, some workers get 5 weeks vacation the first year--government mandated.

We just don't have the vacation to take off so much time at once.

(But those of us that were able to retire young find every day to be a vacation.)

My wife and I travel a lot and we are in our mid-70s. Early in the COVID19 rush we go the vaccines based on what we were told by the CDC.

A lot happened since then, with vaccine effectiveness declining and variants that were easier to get but were not as risky.
In March of 2022, we both got the booster, since we had a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos, which we found out later that we didn't need to get.

Still, in May of 2022, I went to Boston for two graduations (my Daughter's second MA and Son in Laws PhD). Thousands of people at those events. I caught the Omicron variant and brought it home to my wife (unknowing). Aside for a four day sore throat and two weeks of a tired feeling, not a big deal.

We don't plan to do any more boosters.

A little off topic, maybe a lot, but since others have mentioned it, my wife and I got COVID a few weeks ago. We're fully vaxxed and boosted and I hope that kept us from getting really sick, but it was not fun at all running a fever near 102F for four days and ending up with sinus infections. A mild case means not being hospitalized, but we felt like dog poop for a week. It appears we will have the option of not just an annual flu vaccine, but an additional COVID booster. Thank you to the fine folks that got this virus started lol.

Not agreeing with most about economics being the basic driver of less vacationing. Travel can be very cheap like a week of camping. And independent travel is much cheaper than a cruise, for example. Another thing is college graduates today grab diplomas in one hand and $90,000/year first jobs in the other (plus hiring bonus), even without having any relevant work experience. The bottom of the baby boom college graduates had years of scrapping and temporary work before getting their first real job with benefits.

Getting back to my original supposition about why there is less vacationing: there's less interest in travel, fear of travel, ignorance of travel mechanics (e.g. having only done expensive trips as a youngster, Disney, cruise, fancy resort) and not knowing less can be spent and still be rewarding. The fear factor shouldn't be discounted because a relative of mine (who listens to fear media for "balance," to hear "both sides") chastised me for planning a trip to NYC because "it is now so dangerous," there's an extremely profitable industry out there who's main purpose is to make people afraid of other places (races, religions, etc.).

Try this "Gift" link, I hope it'll work for you.

https://wapo.st/3XKd25P

There are so many reasons, and so many of them are already listed here.

My husband technically gets 6 weeks of vacation a year, but they don't really count it. If someone goes over, it isn't a big deal. It would be if people abused it and didn't get their work done, but so far that has not happened.

We are in our mid 50's and were fortunate to be able to put both kids through college entirely, without any credits etc, and that was entirely with me not working. He was career military, so for us it was best for me to be at home with them. No regrets at all and I am very thankful that we were able to make that happen. Paying for our kids college educations was our gift to them, and they are very appreciative of that. Both kids have good jobs and are at 5 weeks of vacation. They have worked very hard for that and use every last minute of it.

I would travel the world if we could take our 2 dogs with us;) For now, we go away for anywhere between one week and three, depending on the location. We are fortunate that our kids live close enough and offer to dog/house sit.

This past year we did 2 international trips, and then I went again on a girls trip. Plus a lot of 4 day trips locally. I know for my husband, he needs that time away to come back refreshed.

Tom MN--Very true. We love to camp/backpack. So that is essentially free since we have had the gear for ages. We are headed back to Iceland for a few weeks this summer and got a camper van for most of the time. The campsites will cost us on average $20 US dollars per night, and the van is about the same cost as an SUV there. So it is a way to extend the trip while keeping costs down.

college graduates today grab diplomas in one hand and $90,000/year first jobs in the other (plus hiring bonus)

I’m sure that exists, but only in VERY rarified, profoundly privileged air. A simple google would adjust that down to averages 20-40% lower (and my hunch is that medians, a better measure, would be even lower) And the growth of those, more realistic numbers is blown out of the water charted against growth rates in housing and tuition expenses.

Scudder--That number was mostly true for our kids and many of their friends. I would say though instead of 90k, most of them started at about 80, to 85k. Thinking of our kids and their friends, their degrees were in engineering, business, and public health. The ones that studied education have all quit teaching and went into business or into being a nanny for wealthy families. I can think of 4 young women that did that.

Ridiculous to allow yourselves to be divided generationally. If, and that's a big if, a boomer has some dough, most is inherited and will be passed on to the succeeding generations.

The truth is that somewhere employers reduced days off from 2 days medical and one day vacation per month worked for the first year, to perhaps 26 days total, if lucky, a few years later. All holidays on Monday reduced the possibility of 4-day weekends. Stealth manœuvres by employers. Social benefits designed to shame rather than boost.

Now you know why the Europeans strike and demonstrate. They don't want what happened in the US to happen to them.

My nephew (34) and his wife (32) are teachers, and they take advantage of their time off... if vacation means "not being home" they vacation about 5 weeks a year. Part of this is having no kids yet - should they chose to have kids that might change how much they travel. My other nephew, (35) has chosen not to use his two college degrees but to work construction .... no vacation granted by his current employer - if he wants time off its without pay. Not sure what generation they are but two very different lifestyles in the same generation.

AMann--Yes, I should have specified that those salaries are for the west side. Also the Portland area, but a tad bit less there.

What chunk of RS' tour members are estimated to be in the workforce (or dependents of workers) versus retirees, who have no such constraints on their vacation time? I would guess the My Way tours to be disproportionately on the younger/ in the workforce side (i.e. families), whereas the normal tours and especially the long tours are mostly retirees. As to the exact splits, only RS knows. More recently, Rick was chasing the cruise ship market and I have not seen him chase the market of ~ 50 years olds and under when it comes to tours (many don't "do" tours to bein with).

I don't think one can possibly shorten a tour to less than 7 days, especially with the cost of flying and minimum time on the ground, jetlag, etc. It a long haul to Europe for many people.

People who, by necessity, have to take shorter trips will probably stay closer to home (that's my guess, anyway).

The workforce for high-skilled labor (especially in cities with a lot of highly educated people, advanced degrees, etc) is super competitive today and no one wants to be out for too long, demonstrating that their worth is actually lower than their self-confidence tells them it is. It just presents an opportunity for someone else to show your boss that you're really not that indispensible. Plus, the email and "catching up" slog is awful when you get back from long trips.

I earn it, so I use it. My current company, I'm a government contractor so every 5 years a new company takes over, encourages us to use our PTO. They have a site that offers deals on flights, car rentals & hotels. They also have a max of what you can carry over, being in California its more than those not in California.

My best friend is a nurse and he has over 300 hours of vacation on the books (separate from sick-leave), management panics when he is gone for more than a couple of days. Every time we are on a motorcycle road trip he usually has a conference call or two he has to attend while we are on the road. Nothing like sitting on the side of Hwy 50, The Loneliest Highway in America, while he is on is head-set talking about his budget and personnel.

For Agnes, when I was leading the My Way Europe itinerary (no longer available... here's hoping we bring it back), it was about 1/3 30 somethings without kids (yet), and the other 2/3 were recent retirees or near retirees.

Back to the subject of Americans taking shorter vacations...

"Every time we are on a motorcycle road trip he usually has a conference call or two he has to attend while we are on the road"

Many years ago I nipped this in the bud with my employer. At that time cell phones were brief case sized and very expensive. I was leaving on a 4 week trip to western US with my wife and children and he asked me to take a cell phone along so that he could keep in touch with me. I guaranteed him that within two days there would be a "cola" accident that would submerge the cell phone. Never heard anymore about that idea for the rest of the time I worked there. If any of you have ever made a cross country trip with young kids you understand.

Concur that for some of us the work is stacking up while we're away, so for me 7-10 days is long enough. It can be hard to not check email to see what type of poop storm awaits my return.

Yeah, I never let the "guilt trip" of work piling up get in the way of my holidays - it was my time off, I earned it.

Thank goodness the bank I worked for gave me 10 days sick time and 20 days vacation (after 10 years) by the time I retired. Now I work for them part time and can take my European vacations without calculating holidays and weekends to maximize my vacation days. Nice!
I agree the attitude of many of my colleagues was one of “oh how busy I am, I couldn’t possibly go to Europe like you”. I never felt guilty for leaving my job. I knew there were plenty of people waiting to step into my role, I was not indispensable!

Reading this has been eye opening. I'm 50 and have worked for the same, small consulting company for nearly 24 years. I've worked from home (when not traveling) for 23 of those years. I work 3/4 time (average 30 instead of 40 hours per week) but still get benefits including 8 weeks of vacation leave, 1 week of sick leave, and 2 weeks of holidays per year. Some vacation leave was negotiated over the years in lieu of pay increases. I wanted the time off more than I wanted or needed the money.

Like someone mentioned above - when I work, it is 100%. When I am off, I am off. I like my job and I prepare my colleagues and customers for when I am going to be out for extended periods of time - the longest I've taken in a row so far was 3 weeks last October. Some of my co-workers, by their own choice for various reasons, don't take all of their leave and forfeit some of it at the end of each year.

My husband owns his own business for the last 10 years after nearly 20 in big corporations. He'll take time off but the most at once is ~2 weeks. He responds to a few urgent messages even while vacationing but he keeps it to a minimum and seems really happy with his work/life balance. If he had all the time off that I have, he'd be miserable. He loves his career!

I am very grateful for the career I've had and my employer. I hope I never have to change jobs/companies until I can retire in a few years.

" I laid it on thick to irritate her even more." Bravo !

The bottom of the baby boom college graduates had years of scrapping and temporary work before getting their first real job with benefits.

That's still the same, except now people graduate with 100k in debt and houses cost 3x as much

I’ve never heard of employers encouraging employees to take PTO or any time. My employer would be very happy if I never took another day off. Where my brother in NH worked for over 30 years they frowned upon taking any time off, earned or unearned alike.

Reading through this thread makes me understand why so few American's travel outside the US. If I only had 7 days leave it would be unlikely that I'd consider a long haul flight. By the time I'd have got over jetlag it would be almost time to come home. I'm certainly grateful for the 35 days annual leave I had plus the unlimited sick leave when I was working.

Reading through this thread makes me understand why so few American's travel outside the US. If I only had 7 days leave it would be unlikely that I'd consider a long haul flight

Reminds me of my first trip to Europe 40 years ago, and I had the "luxury" of 2 weeks time off from work. Then I met some Australians on the ground who told me they were there for 2 months and they could not imagine only 2 weeks - they were young, working age, like me - and they said that Australians get more time off, and often they simply quit a job for a longer trip and get another job when they return, no hurdle to them taking long trips abroad...blew my mind at the time, I was envious...

Reading through this thread makes me understand why so few American's
travel outside the US.

Not exactly....many Americans travel to Canada and Mexico, and that does not always involve jetlag or super long flights (depending on where one is flying from). Plus, there's plenty to see in the US.

simply quit a job for a longer trip and get another job when they return, no hurdle to them taking long trips abroad...blew my mind at the time, I was envious...

Stating the obvious but some Americans have done this— I did, despite my brother saying that it “would ruin my career” (it didn’t). In my case it got me a better job because I got a new boss who admired my values and actions.

The OP is not summarizing trends for the topic question but peer/work pressure and social norms seem to be the deciding factor in declining vacationing, and maybe fear and lack of imagination.

I don’t think money or vacation time are factors.

The U.S. is about the same size as Europe, so there's plenty to see here to fill up a lifetime. Plus with Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean there's more than enough to see and do.

Reading these comments I feel really fortunate that my employer went to unlimited PTO in 2022. I took 6 weeks off last year & could take more. It's my understanding so long as you are performing your job well & not obviously abusing the privilege take what you need.
Now my coworker on my same team only takes 2-3 weeks per year. His wife only gets that much & he doesn't do anything without her.
I've heard more employers are shifting to this model because it actually saves them money. While there are folks like me who will take PTO there are more who barely take it for various reasons. They save money by not forcing a set number of days.

More and more companies are offering unlimited PTO, but recent studies have shown that people with unlimited PTO on average take fewer days a year than those who accrue it. Unlimited sounds good in theory, but doesn't mean supervisor/company will approve longer requests.

I am in my late 50's. I am a professional with 30 years of work experience. I was a small business owner for about 15 years. I took about 2 weeks of vacation a year during that time and would have had unlimited sick time. But of course, if you don't work, you don't bring in money so your annual paycheck drops. This was a definite reason not to take more vacation.

Now I am an employee. I work 4 days per week, still over 40 hours. I get 30 days of "paid time off" that has to include National Holidays and sick days. In reality, I am not getting "paid" for these days as my base salary is based on a minimum measure of productivity. I have a suspicion that if I needed more sick time it wouldn't be an issue as long as I met my baseline productivity goals, which is not a hardship to do. I get productivity bonuses in addition to my salary. During 2020 I took almost no PTO beyond holidays because I was already home 3 days per week and there was nowhere to go. Because I get one day off a week, I can get 9 days off using only 4 days of PTO. I like to take my vacation around Memorial Day or Labor Day which also extends my days off in a row. In 2021 I did not use up all of my days. In 2022 I am pretty sure I took extra days, but nobody said anything and I still earned a small bonus. If I was super concerned about earning the most amount of money I could earn. I would not only work my PTO days, but I could work on my weekly day off. So personal situations and priorities are important here.

It would have been challenging for me to be away from work very long in 2019 and 2020 anyways as there was literally nobody who could have done parts of my job. I did rent a cabin in the woods for 5 days with my dog and had to spend about 2 hours per day on the computer or on the phone. I worked hard to arrange for someone to be able to do more of my job when I am away, but I still spend 20 minutes on the phone every day or two with her to keep things afloat. When I am not traveling I am available by phone 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. I don't mind it.

I get stumped by some strategies of my co-workers. Their contracts allow for PTO time being accrued as they work, say one hour for every 20 hours worked (something like that). I see people taking off work for a headache or being tired from working a second job. Then they never can take more than 3 days (including weekend) off in a row. They seem resigned to live this way. Another colleague with a young family takes 2 one week vacations and uses the rest by taking random Mondays off. She also gets 30 days of PTO and she works 3 scheduled days per week. The American way certainly needs some creativity to maximize days off.

Oh my. It certainly can be, depending on one's job/career. It is very tunnel vision to think there is anything close to standardized time off here in the U.S.

The crux of the article is that Americans are taking less vacation time off, and forfeiting more vacation time. Availability of vacation time wouldn't affect that. As to money, camping or visiting friends or relatives is a very low cost vacation.

In saying this I am assuming that high quality media like the Post did due diligence and researched that the issue isn’t that Americans are accruing less vacation time than previously.

A while back we were having dinner in Mittenwald and a couple from Stuttgart struck up a conversation with us. It eventually turned to paid vacation from work. They were stunned to hear I got 2 weeks per year after working for the same company for at the time nearly 30 years. Their question, concern was, with just 2 weeks, where is the quality of life, the free time to spend with family? Good question I didn’t have an answer for. We try and cram everything we need to do into 2 days after working all week and then getting ready for the coming week at work. So here I am at 62 years of age, 43 years with the same company and still with 2 paid weeks of vacation. So vacation time to spend traveling is rare.

Many others cited the cost of travel as a vacation deterrent

I think this falls into the lack of imagination or ignorance category, not knowing costs. Most people I work with took their families on 2 family vacations total: one or maybe 2 Disney week long trips, or a week cruise and 1 Disney trip. These trips cost upwards of $10,000 for a family of 4. For the same price or less, the same family can rent an Airbnb in Provence for a week. In 2017 we had a fabulous week long spring break in Provence and the complete price for everything including rental car, good flights, and a $120 splurge dinner was $3811 for four.

Paul: I have never heard of a full time job so stingy with vacation time, and I have had several employers. Nearly everyone works up to 4-6 weeks after time, with exceptions like non-profit work.

I just keep circling back to lack of interest as the reason Americans vacation less.

Well, I live it. Small family owned run business. No rules, no policy. Whatever strikes them that day is policy that day. I also know others who have minimal vacation time and are discouraged from using it.

AMann. In my circle I know of no one that has 4, let alone 5 or 6 weeks of vacation time. I’ve worked as a pressman and then a graphic artist all my life. It’s all I know. I couldn’t even dream of having 3 weeks paid vacation.

Well, I live it

I wasn't doubting that you live it, just that it isn't normal for a full time American employee.

It is hard to find statistics on paid leave, but here is one https://www.zippia.com/advice/pto-statistics/
It appears to be calling pto=vacation time, not a combined sense of sick and vacation together, but not really sure.

I’ll say this first, IF I received 15, 20, 30 days of PTO a year I’d use every one of them. I wouldn’t be able to afford to go on vacation that many days though. Not even close. The longest trip I’ve ever taken was for 12 days.

I work hard, have always had 1 FT job and up to 3 PT jobs at a time, sometimes working 100 hours a week. Never been on unemployment in 45 years of working.

Next, I’ve never in my life spent $120 on dinner for two. I can’t even imagine spending that much.

Well, I have to say my circle of friends and family and myself are the anomaly. Yet, according to that site, the norm is 10 paid days off a year not including holidays and sick days.

While the U.S. federal government doesn’t require companies to provide paid vacation to employees, they typically offer between 5 and 15 days of PTO per year.

As much as 31% of employees do not receive paid time off.

Another site:

In countries like Austria and France, governments require that workers are given paid time off. Austrians enjoy 13 paid public holidays and 25 days of paid annual leave. The Boston Globe reports that the U.S. is one of just 13 countries in the world that does not guarantee paid time off.

“The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays,” says John Schmitt, Vice President of the Economic Policy Institute, in a report for the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Relying on businesses to voluntarily provide paid leave just hasn’t worked. It’s a national embarrassment that 28 million Americans don’t get any paid vacation or paid holidays.”

In 2017 we had a fabulous week long spring break in Provence and the complete price for everything including rental car, good flights, and a $120 splurge dinner was $3811 for four.

However you managed to spend that little in 2017 (mazel tov), I assure you that it would not be possible today to match it. I have recently booked flights and hotels for an upcoming trip to Europe, and the prices are higher by 20 to 40 percent.

As for the raging debate about this article, suffice to say many considerations go into the decision to take time off, or when one takes it, what to do with that time. Travel, in general, whether you fly to Europe or stay in the US, is more expensive today than it was a few years ago. The thinking that I have seen among my friends who have in the past traveled to Europe - all at or in retirement age, some still working, some retired - is to stick to the US for now, and wait out the prices for travel to/in Europe in hopes that flights and the rest of it will moderate. Personally I am not so sure that they will moderate or come downl, but I do understand the sticker shock one faces when researching airfares and hotels in Europe, because it smacked me in the face, too, but we have decided to pay up and go.

However you managed to spend that little in 2017

This was an instance of a very low airfare driving the whole trip, just over $400 pp, Delta/AF, although I always wanted to visit Provence so it was on the radar. Then Airbnb and eating picnics and cooking nearly all meals. Rental car about $350. I think $120 for 4 is pretty good for fine dining.

I’ll say this first, IF I received 15, 20, 30 days of PTO a year I’d use every one of them.

I’m with you but the majority of Americans are not and forfeit leave.

FYI: Condor is offering $600 OW to continental Europe this summer, $1000 premium economy. Icelandair sometimes offers premium economy RT for $1000 but shoulder season.

The thinking that I have seen among my friends who have in the past traveled to Europe - all at or in retirement age, some still working, some retired - is to stick to the US for now, and wait out the prices for travel to/in Europe in hopes that flights and the rest of it will moderate.

Prices may (probably will) stabilize, but I think it's wishful thinking to expect prices to actually go down (much or at all)....what's the precedent for that?

In a few years, we will be looking back at today's prices (and crowding levels) with nostalgia as The Good Old Days. Carpe diem.

AMann, agree with $120 to eat out is ridiculous. We save a TON of money and eat healthier by eating at home absent special occasions and travel. I came to the realization after a recent overpriced restaurant meal (no, not Olive Garden lol) and thought, "I could eat better at home and save some big $$ to upgrade to premium economy."

I had a friend (RIP) who shopped at discount stores like Wal Mart as opposed to more upscale grocery stores, and the savings paid a big portion of his annual trips to Europe.

David, yeah. Within 5 years, maybe less, 2023 will be the good old days of cheaper airfares and less congested travel. There's really little question of that. Heck, I get a little wistful thinking about the halcyon days of the 1980s in Europe. Sigh.

Places like Disney World can be comically expensive.

I don’t think money or vacation time are factors

I agree with this. I think Tom of Mn said this.

I am a baby boomer, but I observe my daughter, her husband and her friends, etc. Both their companies close down at Christmas, plus they have more than the alleged 2 weeks, plus work and days are flexible over and above that depending on their general life activities. They don't "travel" a lot, because they choose not to because they did so much traveling pre-child. My daughter lived in Europe for 7 years. My SIL is British. They and their American friends work hard, but they also take a lot of vacation time. They live their lives.

What I do notice (and I noticed this when I was working as well from my group) is that people don't manage their money. My daughter is extremely skilled at this and I will brag...one of my proudest moments was when she asked me to look at her financial spreadsheet of everything they spent for months to verify they could afford the house they were buying. LOL. My job is done! That brag over. Everyone should do that. I am close with other people, Baby Boomers, Gen X and millennials who spend every cent they earn on STUPID things. They aren't even saving for retirement. They can't fathom affording a vacation or retirement because they have to buy EVERYTHING.

Throughout my career, I made sure I could have a life outside of work. I worked a job so I could do that. I also saved money. I eventually started my own business so that I could take summers off to spend with my daughter. I would just apologize to customers and say I have a big project this summer, but I never said it was my daughter. People thought I must be loaded to have the life I had, but what I had was "Faith in the Distance", (love Jackson Browne). The minute an employer gets whiff of you being afraid or needing them, you are sunk. You lose all their respect. Those are the people who don't live their lives, but who work all the time because they are afraid, in my experience. They do not have faith in themselves or their future so they buckle under.

That being said, legitimately poor people (edit: as compared to those who just can’t stop spending money as described above) have never had money to travel, through all the generations. This is a separate topic and is comparing the incomparable in this topic. (Edit: Of course everyone one deserves vacation/time off, but that has never correlated to European or other vacations for the poor.)

Hold Harmless: I did not access this article. I'm in New England. Perhaps things work differently here.

Amen AMann.

A Mann, her point was that many people(but certainly not everyone) could afford to travel if they budgeted their money accordingly. Many people of good income think that only the rich can afford to travel to Europe.

Capitalism does not financially reward the people that we all depend on the most-first responders, trash collectors, the list would be endless.

The 10.4 days off is the average of everyone, including the up to 31% who work part time who have zero, and the people who change jobs frequently and never get the tenure to move past two weeks.

Look at the link I posted showing typically much longer vacation time for tenure over 20 years.

AMann, I've enjoyed reading your thoughtful and insightful posts.

Anyway, we are probably lower on the economic scale than the vast majority of this board, but we can afford annual trips to Europe due budgeting carefully during the year. We don't buy unnecessary things and our cars are paid off. No debt. That's huge.