A Third of Americans Haven't Taken a Vacation in Over Two Years

Image: Couple enters their vacation home rental. (photo via  iStock / Getty Images Plus /  monkeybusinessimages)
Image: Couple enters their vacation home rental. (photo via iStock / Getty Images Plus / monkeybusinessimages)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 1:00 PM ET, Wed July 17, 2019

A new study found that over a third of Americans haven't taken a vacation in over two years, while another 51 percent said they have not vacationed in more than a year.

According to Allianz Global Assistance's 11th annual Vacation Confidence Index, only 42 percent of survey respondents said they were confident they would take a summer vacation this year, the lowest percentage since 2013.

As for the reasons behind travelers not using their vacation days, 44 percent of American said they do not have the money to spend, while another 19 percent do not want to spend their money on a vacation.

"Americans are still consistently underutilizing their paid time off, with the average working American taking fewer than half their vacation days and a third of Americans reporting they haven't vacationed in more than two years," Allianz director Daniel Durazo said in a statement.

"Whether finances, work or another reason are keeping you from booking that summer trip, the positive health benefits of taking vacation have been widely-documented," Durazo continued. "From a weeklong getaway to a micro-cation, it's always important to protect that financial investment with travel insurance."

In addition, 14 percent of respondents said they are not confident they will take a summer vacation because they cannot take time off work, and another 12 percent revealed they do not want to take time off work.

The Vacation Confidence Index also found 41 percent of working Americans take less than half of their entitled vacation days, two in ten do not take any and one-third take less than a quarter of their allotted time off.

The survey also found that just 19 percent of Americans who said an annual vacation is important are not confident that they'll take one.


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