Jan. 29 is National Plan for Vacation Day and Visit Wichita is encouraging individuals to celebrate by planning their vacation time. Whether you decide to take several long weekends throughout the year or take a week or more off at once, the organization is encouraging workers to plan now for how to use your vacation time in the coming year.
Every year more than half of Americans (52%) fail to use all their time off, creating a stock pile of 705 million unused vacation days in 2017, up from 662 million days the year before. In Kansas, 58 percent of workers are not using up their available vacation, leaving more than 6 million unused vacation days.
“Visit Wichita is celebrating National Plan for Vacation Day because we want to encourage Americans to take their well-deserved time off,” said Susie Santo, president and CEO of Visit Wichita. “By committing to plan how to use your time off, Americans can all reap the benefits of taking a break while giving yourself something to look forward to.”
The most effective remedy for American workers who want to use more vacation days is better planning. Yet just over half (52%) of households set aside time to plan the use of their vacation time each year.
Research shows that planners have a distinct advantage over non-planners: They use more of their time, take longer vacations, and are happier. 53 percent of planners took all of their vacation time vs. 43 percent of non-planners. Planners are also more likely than non-planners to use all or most of their time off to travel (33% to 18%).
More planners report they are “very” or “extremely” happy with their personal relationships (81% vs. 68%), health and well-being (56% vs. 43%), company (57% vs. 50%), and job (56% vs. 48%) compared to non-planners.
To help employees get their vacation days on the calendar, U.S. Travel Association created a vacation planning tool. By simply entering the number of days off earned, users can plot out their trips for the year, export to their work or personal calendar, and share with their family and co-workers.
“This National Plan for Vacation Day, have a plan to take all your time off. Whether the plan is to stay in the area or to travel to places far away, it’s important to take the time you’ve earned to recharge.”
National Plan for Vacation Day is celebrated the last Tuesday in January as a day to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the rest of the year at the start of the year. For more information, visit www.projecttimeoff.com.
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About Visit Wichita
Visit Wichita markets the greater Wichita area as a major convention and tourism destination, thereby enhancing the economic development of the city, county, region and state. Visit Wichita is led by president and CEO Susie Santo, and in 2017 travel and tourism contributed more than $1.1 billion in economic impact to the greater Wichita area.
