Americans need vacations

“I’m tired as hell and I can’t take it any more. I need a vacation.”

Whether those words are uttered, or simply thought, they pretty much sum up the feelings of many hard-working Americans – whether they’re single, a couple or married with kids.

“The pace of work in contemporary life has gotten to the point where most people would declare it frenetic,” says Peter Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, a PR/marketing/ad agency, and a developer of the 16-year-old National Travel Monitor.

Singles and couples normally can vacation at almost any time, he says. For families, summer is the time, especially for those with school-age children. Family travel, not surprisingly, is on the rise.

“Family travel (and that includes grandparents) this year will continue to grow faster than all other forms of leisure travel,” Yesawich says.

But in 6 of 10 households, he adds, both Mom and Dad work full time. This means they are trying to juggle all of the other commitments in the family’s schedule at the same time.

“Booking a vacation becomes a Herculean challenge for them,” Yesawich says. “And that translates into a growing sense of parental guilt – that we don’t spend enough time with our kids.”

Although summer is prime holiday time and vacation days are in short supply, 57 percent of parents surveyed said they have no qualms about taking their kids out of school if they can’t travel between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Other trends noted in the 2007 National Travel Monitor, based on a sampling of 1,800 travelers in January and February:

“Length of vacations. In many minds – mine included – a typical vacation is a week or two. In actuality, according to Yesawich, only 23 percent of Americans take what’s called an “extended vacation” of five-plus days. Another 23 percent take weekday vacations of four days or less, and 52 percent take weekend vacations of less than four days.

Yesawich says that people taking longer vacations are over 55 and either retired or semiretired.

“Time poverty – the sense of compression – is real for family households in America,” he says. “It’s no wonder the most popular form of vacation is a weekend trip.”

And that, he says, “is particularly true for working families.”

According to the World Tourism Organization, Americans average 13 vacation days a year, while Italy’s average is 42 days, France’s 37, Germany’s 35, Britain’s 28, Canada’s 26 and Japan’s 25.

“Dream vacations. When asked where they wanted to go in the next two years, 68 percent of respondents chose Hawaii’s neighbor islands (Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai and the Big Island) and 67 percent chose the national parks.

Other high-scoring destinations included Honolulu, with 63 percent; Florida Keys, 51 percent; San Diego, San Francisco and Orlando, tied at 43 percent: Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, 42 percent; and Colorado mountain resorts and New York City, 41 percent.

Yesawich said travelers yearn to commune with nature, which explains choices such as Hawaii and the national parks, and to be near water, thus San Diego and the Florida Keys. He said 44 percent of people dream of taking a cruise, but only 6 percent of adult travelers do.

“Getting there. When vacation time rolls around, 78 percent of Americans use the family car for at least one getaway. For other trips, flying is the choice of 48 percent. Rental cars, cruise ships, bus and rail transportation also come into play, but for far fewer people.

High gas prices might lead some people to drive shorter distances, but “they are still going to take their vacations,” Yesawich says.

However, he adds, “they might trade down the quality of accommodations or budget more conservatively for food, beverages and entertainment.”

When it comes to choosing an airline, 33 percent of travelers opt for a low-fare carrier, 23 percent the major airlines and 44 percent have no preference. The number of people who fly to their destinations is increasing primarily because of attractive fares offered by low-cost carriers, Yesawich said.

“Trip planning. When travelers get the itch to vacation, a whopping 66 percent use the Internet to do their planning, including their search for airfares and hotels. Another 23 percent rely on the Internet and a travel agent for trip planning, while 5 percent use only a travel agent and 6 percent use neither a travel agent nor the Internet, but rely on recommendations of family and friends.

Yesawich notes that almost 6 of 10 leisure travelers now make reservations online, 6 percent more than last year. A third of the travelers who use the Internet “tell us they would not make a reservation online with a credit card”; their concern, he says, is identity theft.

While the 2007 Travel Monitor focuses mainly on trends, the Travel Industry Association, a trade group, and American Express released an online study in early April on what 2,500 leisure travelers wanted from their vacations.

The ideal vacation, according to this sampling, consists of rest, relaxation and spending time with significant others. Respondents said they would like to travel more by plane and ship and would like to double the length of their average trip.

An easy travel experience, fun, adventure and local flavor were also high on their list.

Barriers to an ideal vacation, the study found, were budget constraints, family and work responsibilities.

The TIA study said 62 percent of Americans generally vacation with spouses or significant others. Cities are the most popular destinations at 39 percent, followed by small towns and rural areas at 26 percent and ocean beaches at 23 percent.

The most popular activities? Sightseeing and shopping, tied at 51 percent.

According to the TIA, 124 million Americans took a vacation in the last year, amounting to 55 percent of the adult population. The typical traveler took three trips a year, spending $1,500 per trip, and traveled 1,200 miles from home.