Visitors Bureau Encourages Coloradoans to Plan for Vacation

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Research Shows Planners Take More Vacation, Are Happier

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Jan. 30, 2018 – As part of National Plan for Vacation Day on Jan. 30, the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau is helping Colorado residents take their paid vacation days off with planning tools at VisitCOS.com/vacation.

Every year more than half of Americans (54%) fail to use all their time off, creating a stock pile of 662 million unused vacation days. In Colorado alone, 52 percent of employees are leaving a total of 12,241,500 vacation days on the books. America’s unused vacation represents a missed economic opportunity. Americans unused vacation days presents a $236 billion economic opportunity—a $3,126,775,322 boost for the Colorado economy.

The most effective remedy for American workers who want to use more vacation days is better planning. Yet just over half (54%) of households set aside time to plan the use of their vacation time each year. National Plan for Vacation Day, launched by Project: Time Off, is a call to action for Americans to stop making excuses and start making vacation plans.

“The CVB is celebrating National Plan for Vacation Day because it’s time for Americans to reclaim their vacation days, and it starts with us. We held a staff event for the second year in a row to instill this concept into our company culture and hope others will follow suit,” said Doug Price, CVB president & chief executive officer. “By planning, we can all reap the benefits of taking a break while giving ourselves something to look forward to.”

“It’s true that people are not using vacation time the way they used to,” said Barry Brown, CVB board chair and vice president of sales and marketing at The Broadmoor. “Sometimes, they feel stuck in a pattern of doing the same things, not because they want to but because it is convenient. It’s a ‘no brainer.’ Plan Your Vacation is a way to get people to think differently by offering unusual opportunities perhaps they haven’t considered. Customization is key to this program, and we feel will be key to its success.”

Research shows that planners have a distinct advantage over non-planners. Project: Time Off’s The State of American Vacation 2017 report found that planners use more of their time, take longer vacations and are happier.

• 52 percent of planners took all their vacation time vs. 40 percent of non-planners.
• 75 percent of planners were more likely to take a full week of vacation time or more at a time. Non-planners take significantly fewer days—zero to three—than planners at once (42% to 18%).
• More planners report they are “very” or “extremely” happy with their relationships (83% vs. 70%), health and well-being (57% vs. 48%), company (57% vs. 51%) and job (59% vs. 50%) compared to non-planners.

“America’s vacation deprivation shortchanges the time we invest in our personal relationships, undermines our performance at work and threatens our economic well-being,” said Katie Denis, chief of research and strategy for Project: Time Off. “In 2018, Americans need to plan for their bucket list instead of the to-do list.”

To help employees get their vacation days on the calendar, Project: Time Off created a vacation planning tool. By simply entering the number of days off earned, users can plot out their trips or vacations for the year, export to their work or personal calendar and share with their family and co-workers.