An annual vacation was once considered a God-given right. Or, if not ordained, something that one just did. Not just for those with means. Everybody. People that were just scraping by would find a way to take the family on vacation. For many, it was the focal point of the year.
I know it was for my family, as we would annually find a cabin in Northern Wisconsin to chill, reconnect and luxuriate in the Northwoods. Terri's family would often head west to Oklahoma, Wyoming, the Dakotas and Colorado. We just did.
So, to hear that the latest consumer study by Allianz says that 51% of us didn't vacay in the past 12 months (and that roughly 40% haven't in two years) is painful, to say the least.
US Travel's Project Time Off is a start...but DMOs need to take up the mantle and inspire Americans to not lose touch with what it means to live.
Maybe you might speculate as to why this is the case... perhaps when the fear of taking time off outweighs the necessity to connect with family? When salaries have not risen to keep up with inflation? When the income gap has continued to grow so that the rich and the middle class are becoming distant neighbors?
Those of us fortunate enough to take vacations need to understand our privilege and look to make society more equitable for all.
Posted by: Peter | July 23, 2018 at 21:08
There are lots of reasons...fear of being replaced, fear of the next recession, the inability to make ends meet on an unsustainable income, even the evolution of a generation that doesn't know anything but work because of their fears. But, I think DMOs need to inspire people with discretionary income to think differently about how they spend it. Travel is transformational. Are those things those who don't travel spend money on?
And, yes. Business needs to compensate its workers at a higher level so they can experience the world (which business needs to begin to understand will make them more productive and valuable employees).
Posted by: Bill Geist | July 23, 2018 at 21:22