CANADIANS WANT MORE VACATION TIME

According to the 2013 Canadian edition of Expedia.ca’s annual Vacation Deprivation study, working Canadians wish they could have as many vacation days (25 to 30 days) as their counterparts across the Atlantic. The national survey found that Canadians will receive 17 vacation days this year, but respondents said they would actually be happy with 30 vacation days nearly twice as many days as most of us currently receive. Sean Shannon, vice-president and managing director of Expedia Canada, observed: “We’re getting roughly three weeks vacation, but we’d ideally like to get around six weeks off. Perhaps that’s why we see a significant percentage of respondents who feel they’re not getting enough time away from work.” While most respondents (60%) do not consider themselves to be suffering from vacation deprivation, 40% are feeling its effects since they claim they aren’t getting enough vacation time or aren’t taking all the vacation owed to them. In fact, more than one quarter (27%) of Canadians are carrying over unused vacation time from last year. The top reason cited by respondents for not using all of their vacation days was being too busy at work and not having enough staff resources to cover off responsibilities while away was cited as the number one reason (13%). “We feel forty per cent is a sizeable chunk of the workforce to report they are feeling the effects of vacation deprivation, so we’re doing what we can to help,” Shannon said. “Since even a short break provides many benefits that come with taking time away, we’re happy to offer unmatched travel options that make vacationing easier and more affordable regardless of whether workers need a few weeks off or just a couple of days away to recharge.” For more, go to http://www.expedia.ca .