New Study Shows How Often Americans Spend Daydreaming About Vacations

A new study conducted by OnePoll in partnership with Apple Vacations has revealed some interesting insights into the behaviors and travel booking habits of the average American.

Based on the responses of 2,000 U.S. residents who’ve ever been on a vacation before, the research found that the average American spends almost 200 hours every year daydreaming about taking a vacation.

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That’s a total of about 24 full workdays spent lost in reverie, envisioning the ways in which we’d love to spend a blissful reprieve from the daily grind.

Of those polled, 82 percent admitted to daydreaming about going on holiday, with nearly one-third saying they have these wishful thoughts often. 65 percent also revealed that they routinely browse travel websites, although they know full well that they can’t actually afford to go on vacation. The study calculated that the typical American spends 37 minutes monthly looking at travel websites, visiting an average of four different websites each month, or 48 per year.

67 percent of respondents said they are adamant about perusing online consumer reviews before booking their vacations, with 34 percent saying that they rely on web-based reviews for every trip they take. 70 percent also say that they reach out to friends and family for travel recommendations, in addition to conducting their own research.

Even after doing their due diligence, it seems that Americans tend to fumble when it comes to actually planning their vacations. An astounding 73 percent forget to book some portion of their trip, with 22 percent of those neglecting to book a key part of their vacation on every trip they take. 71 percent of those surveyed have actually messed up the dates when organizing their travel, with 23 percent of those doing so on every single vacation!

The poll also uncovered which aspects of planning their perfect getaway tend to stress Americans out the most.

Over half of the respondents cited choosing when to travel as the number one hardship they encounter when trying to book their vacations. 47 percent said that finding the ideal place to stay is hard for them, while 44 percent said saving up enough money for a trip is the real challenge. 43 percent felt that coordinating various schedules can make it difficult to book a proper vacay and 42 percent reported difficulty in finding things to do during the trip itself.