Two-week vacations going way of Dodo?
Three-and four-day getaways are replacing the traditional once-a-year two-week vacation that used to be American standard, opening the door of opportunity to marketers who can capitalize on the trend.
Work overload and the accompanying lack of time are some reasons why the two-week family vacation is becoming a thing of the past, according to various surveys.
“People are taking the mini-vacations,” Sharif Aboushaba, general manager of the Hilton Melbourne Beach Oceanfront Hotel told Florida Today. He added:
“But here’s the catch: They may take a shorter vacation, but they may take three or four of them, especially if it’s driving within 100 miles. I call those vacations the ‘Weekendscapes.”
The shorter vacations are more common because of the difficulty of families in coordinating their various work, school and extracurricular schedules, say tourism officials.
Many employees will try to wrap three- and four-day getaways around holidays, such as Labor Day and Thanksgiving, so the impact on the workplace will be even less, said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement consultancy.
“For the employer, these brief jaunts are the equivalent of a 10-minute power nap,” he said. “They do not disrupt the rhythm of the workplace.”
Other reasons for shorter vacations include too few vacation days and a lack of money. But it appears some Americans are getting away from vacations entirely, say some experts.
A recent study by Orbitz, the online travel company, found a drop in the number of people taking three-week or two-week vacations. The survey also found an increase in those taking a week or less. One-third of respondents said they took five or fewer days of vacation in the past year.
One in four of those surveyed said they felt their bosses did not encourage them to take vacations, and one in three said they stayed connected with their office via phone or computer while on holiday.
“Our sense is that people are busier than ever with their lives, their family activities, their kids,” said Jeanenne Diefendorf of Orbitz. “So they find it difficult to take an extended vacation and easier to balance if they’re only gone a couple of days.”
The growth of the mini-getaways will be a boon for hospitality businesses that are able to adapt their marketing strategies to attract these frequent vacationers, said Mr Challenger.
“We will probably see tourist destinations like Chicago, Napa Valley and New Orleans begin to spend more money advertising in their regions, offering packages to local residents who just want to get away for a long weekend,” he said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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