Around 10 million vacation days will go untaken this year in Canada, according to the results of an Expedia.ca survey released October 2.
The survey found that, on average, Canadians are given 17 vacation days a year, but they only take 15.5 of them. A third of those who do not take all their days say it’s because their work schedules don’t really allow for them to plan vacations.
“Since the inception of the Vacation Deprivation Survey in 2003, Canadians have collectively left more than 350 million vacation days on the table, resulting in $53 billion in wages handed back to employers,” Expedia said.
“That represents an average of more than 26 million unused vacation days and more than $4 billion in wages each year.”
More than half of all respondents – 52% – consider themselves to be “vacation deprived.” Of those, 66% say it’s because they do not get enough vacation days, and the remainder say it is because they don’t take the days they have earned.
"Over the years, we've noticed some recurring reasons as to why Canadians aren't taking full advantage of their allotted vacation time. Commonly, it's because things such as looking after family and focusing on their careers have taken priority," said stress and wellness expert Beverly Beuermann-King.
"And, while investing in our jobs and families is important, so is investing in our physical and mental wellbeing. In fact, taking time off for yourself can often result in improved relationships with others and greater productivity."
Almost three-quarters of those polled say they associate vacationing with their overall happiness, and 78% say they feel energized before they even leave for vacation. Forty per cent of respondents say they feel less stressed and more relaxed after vacations, and 36% say they are happier after coming home from a trip.
In spite of this, Expedia found that more than a million Canadians have not taken a vacation in 15 years – and over 1.4 million say they have never been on a vacation in their lives.
