Americans Aren’t the Only Ones Not Using Their Vacation Days

The U.S. isn’t the only country whose citizens are guilty of not using their vacation time.

Asia-Pacific countries on average got 19 vacation days this year and only took 14, or 73%. Globally, only 55% of employers say they approve of their employees taking vacation time, which is a likely culprit of why Asian countries aren’t maximizing their vacations.

The U.A.E. seems unaffected, however, as these employees take all 30 of the 30 vacations days given to them on average, the highest rate for Asian countries examined in Expedia’s 2014 Vacation Deprivation Study.

And a glimmer of hope: Americans are actually taking more of their vacation days this year than the past two years, and they’re getting a little more time off too. Americans polled said they’re given an average of 15 vacation days a year and take 14, or about 93% of their vacation time. In 2012, they took 12 out of 14 days allotted, and last year 10 out of 14 days, 85% and 71%, respectively.

Though subtle, this increase doesn’t correspond to another finding: American employees don’t feel their bosses are any more supportive of taking vacation time this year compared to 2013. In fact, the support percentage dropped four percent year-over-year, 76% to 72%, though this is higher than the global average.

For American destinations and hotels seeking to capitalize on lengthy vacation stays, they’re probably out of luck. About 60% of Americans say they take vacations in short spurts or long weekend trips, and worldwide 53% of employees take vacation time in this fashion. Only 29% said they stockpile their vacation days for longer getaways.

This study comes a month after a Skift survey found half of the U.S. hadn’t taken a single vacation day yet for 2014 as of October.

How Many Vacation Days Asia-Pacific Countries Take