The Allianz Global Assistance 11th annual Vacation Confidence Index revealed that many Americans are struggling to find the time and money to get away.
More than one-third of Americans say they have not taken a vacation in more than two years and just over half say that they haven't had one in a year.
The index defines a "vacation" as a leisure trip of at least a week to a destination that is 100 miles or more from home and, when asked if they were confident that they would take a vacation this year, just 42 percent said yes.
While many people believe that it's work preventing Americans from traveling, the Vacation Confidence Index found that most, 44 percent, do not travel because they don't have the money. Only 14 percent who said they are not confident they will take a summer vacation because they cannot take time off work, and 12 percent of Americans not confident they will take a summer vacation report that they do not want to take the time off work.
Other reasons keeping Americans home include being unable or uninterested in taking the time away (20 percent), or that planning a vacation too stressful and time-consuming (10 percent).
This year was the first year that the Vacation Confidence Index also considered the relationship between a boss and employee when it comes to vacation habits, and the research found that a sizable amount, 52 percent of Americans, say they take about the same proportion of vacation time as their bosses do, which suggests supervisors may be leading by example. Employees report that their bosses take about 51 percent of their entitled vacation time and many employees mimic that, meaning a lot of vacation days are going unused.
"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," said Daniel Durazo, director of marketing and communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA.
"Whether finances, work or another reason are keeping you from booking that summer trip, the positive health benefits of taking a vacation have been widely documented. From a weeklong getaway to a micro-cation, it's always important to protect that financial investment with travel insurance," Durazo added.
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