Work v/s Vacation? Work Wins! – Vacation Deprivation Report 2016

• 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

“Vacations play a critical role in creating work-life balance as it reenergizes 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 Mr. 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.