Expedia Vacation Deprivation Report 2016

New Delhi, Delhi, India/Businesswire India//–

• 71% Indians cancelled or postponed vacation plans because of work
• Despite 77% bosses supporting employees to take their vacation time in 2016 vis-à-vis 70% last year

Expedia®, a leading full service online travel company, today released the results of the 2016 Vacation Deprivation® study, an annual survey of vacation habits across multiple countries and continents. The survey highlights that India is ranked as the 4^th most vacation deprived country globally, just after Spain(68%), UAE (68%); Malaysia (67%) and South-Korea (64%). Findings that further corroborate this are 63% Indians take fewer days of the vacation days they get, 40% don’t use all vacation days as work schedule does not allow for vacation or don’t have enough staff to cover and 32% are not able to take vacation days due to personal schedule.

“Vacations play a critical role in creating work-life balance as it re-energizes people to be more focused at work (95% of Indians agree in the survey). According to Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation Survey 2016, 47% of Indians are ready to give up social media and television while 30% would give up Internet and 27% can give up contact with their besties for a week, all for one additional day of vacation,” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head, Expedia in India.

“The Indians are evolving, from a tourist to a traveler. Some of the findings that highlight this evolution are that they find happiness by – exploring somewhere new (77%, #2 globally); eating what they want (56%, #1 globally); meeting new people (54%, #1 globally); and getting a lot of ‘likes’ or comments on social media posts (20%, #1 globally); use technology to research information about the destination they are visiting (68%, #3) or to book activities or reservations while travelling (57%, #1),” he added.

DETAILED SURVEY FINDINGS:

Vacation days, received v/s taken

• Indians received 21 annual vacation days but could only take 15 vacation days in the year
• Vacation days received: France, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Finland, UAE (30); USA, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand (15); Hong Kong (14)
• Vacation days taken: Brazil, France, Spain, Finland, UAE (30); USA, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand (12); Japan (10); South Korea (8)

Why be Deprived of vacation time?

• Work schedule does not allow for vacation/not enough staff to cover – South Korea (43%), India (40%), Malaysia (34%)
• Lack of money/cannot afford to take holidays/vacation – India (14%); Germany, Netherlands, Belgium (6%)
• Difficult to coordinate time that works for me and my spouse/partner/family member/friend’s schedule -South Korea (30%), Malaysia (29%), India (27%)
• I can get money in exchange for my unused vacation days- Brazil (41%), India (28%), Denmark and South Korea (24%)
• Personal schedule does not allow for vacation- India (32%), Malaysia (30%), Thailand (26%)
• I feel like important work decisions will be made without me- India (21%), Hong Kong and UAE (18%)
• I think that not taking all of my vacation time will be perceived positively by my manager / employer India (21%); South Korea (12%); Brazil, Thailand (11%)
• I usually use all my vacation time due to illness – India (17%), Thailand (15%), Mexico (12%)

Vacation Patterns!

• 41% of Indians mix one long holiday and several short vacations in a year
• 3% of Indians (#2 globally) extend business trips by a few days closely following Thailand at 4%
• 86% would take a vacation during the holiday season that was not tied to family obligations (#3)

Travel Buddy#

• Indians mostly travel with one or two others (77%), alone (8%) and with a large group (16%, #2 globally)
• The favorite travel buddies for Indians are Spouse (73%), Children (59%, #1), Friends (53%, #1), Colleagues – (26%, #1), Tour group (9%, #1)

Happiness while travelling

• Exploring somewhere new – Italy (78%), India (77%), Singapore (76%)
• Eating what I want – India (56%); Malaysia, Singapore (52%); Italy (25%)
• Meeting new people – India (54%), Brazil (40%), UAE (38%)
• Hotel perks/ amenities such as spa treatments or in-room dining – Brazil (36%); India (35%); Mexico, Switzerland (31%)
• Vacation romance – India (49%), UAE (39%), Denmark (37%)
• Room upgrades – India (24%); USA, Singapore (19%); Sweden, Finland (4%)
• Getting a lot of ‘likes’ or comments on social media posts – India (20%), Thailand (15%), Hong Kong (13%)

Sacrifices for more vacation days? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Willing to give up the following for a week in order to have one extra day of vacation-

• Social Media – Finland (59%); Sweden (53%); Austria, Israel, India (47%)
• Television – Mexico (52%); India (47%); Brazil (45%)
• Cell phone/ smartphone – Brazil (28%); Canada, India (26%)
• The Internet – Thailand (33%); Finland, India (30%)
• Contact with best friend – UAE (31%); India (27%); Mexico, Thailand (22%)
• Taking a shower – Thailand (17%); Finland (13%); India, UAE (12%)
• None of the above – Brazil (8%); Finland, India (5%)

Work v/s Vacation? Work wins!

• On a one-week vacation, 37% Indians (#3 globally) would check e-mail/ voicemail at least once per day. Hong Kong (39%) and UAE (38%) lead the trend
• Indians are addicted to work; 28% (#2) feel less stressed checking in at/on work while on holiday (Mexico leads at 33%) while 42% feel no difference
• Indian bosses #3 globally, as 77% supportive of employees taking their vacation time. The list is led by Norway (79%) and Switzerland (78%)
• 10% of Indians feel guilty about taking their vacation days. The countries that top the list are South Korea (19%), Japan (18%) and USA (14%)
• Indians #2 (71%) cancelled or postponed their vacation plans because of work, led by UAE (75%)
• 55% Indians spend time at work planning their vacations

Mobile Technology + Travelling

• To share images of my vacation with family and friends via social media – Brazil (66%); India (63%); Malaysia (57%)
• To play games (e.g., Pokemon Go) – India (42%); Singapore (38%); Thailand (36%)
• To meet people – India (44%); UAE (32%); Thailand (26%)
• To book my next vacation – India (43%); Thailand (27%); Singapore, UAE (25%)

Vacation Hangover!

After I return from vacation I feel –

• Happier – Singapore (98%); India (96%); Brazil, Finland (95%)
• In better health – Brazil (96%); India (95%); Italy (93%)
• Closer to my partner or family members – India (94%); Malaysia, Singapore (93%)
• Self-fulfillment in working hard to earn vacation – India (93%); Singapore (92%); Brazil (88%)

Next Vacation

We plan the next vacation:

• Within a month of returning from holiday – Switzerland, India, Japan (14%)
• Within a week of returning from holiday – Denmark (12%); India (11%); France, Italy, UK (10%);
• I book whilst on my current holiday – Thailand (10%); India (9%); USA, Mexico, Hong Kong (8%)

Hot Continents:
Top Choices: Asia (31%), Europe (26%), North America (12%)

• Emerging: Oceania (Australia / New Zealand, 13%), Middle East (8%), Central America (5%), Africa (3%), South America (2%), The Caribbean (1%)
• We use mobile technology while travelling to book the next vacation – India (43%); Thailand (27%); Singapore, UAE (25%)

Last minute vacation? Oh Yeah!

• For a last minute vacation, 17% Indians would feel comfortable going tomorrow (#17), 41% this weekend (#1 globally), 21% next week (#16)
• 6% Indians would not feel comfortable taking a last minute vacation (bottom #2)

Methodology

The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm. It was conducted online from September 12 to September 29, 2016, across North America, Europe, South America, and Asia Pacific using the Kantar-owned GMI (Global Market Insite) and Lightspeed Research amalgamated group of panels. The study was conducted among 9,424 employed adults aged 18 years of age and older across 28 countries.

Expedia Vacation Deprivation Report 2016