Americans may be among the worst in the Western world at vacationing, Expedia said, citing results from similar surveys in France, Germany, Britain, Canada, and Australia. The survey results indicated Americans receive and take the fewest vacation days of any workers surveyed.
Expedia said its surveys indicate vacation deprivation in the United States is getting worse, not better. During the last six years, the average amount of American vacation time has steadily increased, rising from 12 to 14 days last year alone. But the number of vacation days going unused is also increasing, from an average of three days in 2005 to four this year.
The quality of American vacation time may also be slipping. The Expedia survey indicated 23 percent of employed Americans checked their work e -mail or voice mail while on vacation, up from 16 percent in 2005. Americans also tend to take only one full vacation week and scatter the days in the remaining week across the rest of the year.
Americans are working as hard as ever. The Expedia survey indicated 38 percent of employed Americans say they regularly work more than 40 hours a week.
Based on the Expedia polling data, the French are the best vacationers. French workers receive on average 39 days of vacation each year, and fail to use only two of them. The survey indicated the French tend to take at least one vacation each year that lasts at least two weeks.
Germans ranked second in the poll, receiving on average 27 vacation days a year and leaving just one on the table. British workers reported receiving 24 vacation days on average and failing to use only one.
Canadians and Australians were way off the European vacation pace, but still ahead of Americans in terms of taking time off. The Expedia surveys indicated Canadians on average take 19 vacation days a year and leave two unused. The fun-loving Australians receive 17 vacation days and leave two on the table.
The Expedia poll found that Americans living in the Northeast and the South tend to vacation better than Westerners. Folks from the Northeast use more of their vacation time and report fewer problems coping with the stress from work while on vacation. By contrast, Westerners on average left seven days of vacation unused, three more than the national average, and nearly half of them say they work more than 40 hours a week.
Contact Bruce Mohl at mohl@globe.com.
