Be a Happier Person the Rest of the Year If You Take a Vacation

Perhaps one of the events that we look forward to all year round is our vacation time! Yet, Americans are notoriously bad at taking a vacation, even though it’s been shown that vacation has a positive effect on our mental and emotional health. A little under half of Americans even take a summer vacation and a report released by Project: Time Off, showed that American employees only took 16 vacation days in 2013, a decreased number from 2000, when they took around 20. Work is important, but so is having fun. You don’t want to get to the end of your life and mourn all the places you never went and dream of all the places you wanted to see. If you dream of concierge services in a luxury apartment in France for a month, do it! Make your dream a reality! Life is too short to simply dream about travel and vacation time — take advantage of your vacation time and get out there and see the world!
Why Are Vacations So Important?
In 2014, Diamond Resorts took a survey and found that over three quarters of their respondents said they felt happier when they planned to go on at rip at least once a year. Vacations let people relax and restore total well-being, in mind, body, and soul. For example, tourists can walk up to 10 miles a day if they go sightseeing in Europe. If you visit somewhere with lots of natural beauty, you may end up walking or hiking for long periods of time as well, which is great for your physical well being. Vacations are also a chance to see other parts of your country or explore other cultures, traditions, and languages in other countries. They can also be the week or two out of the year that you can spend undiluted time with your family — it can be tough to find the time, especially with conflicting schedules and long hours at work. Vacations can also offer the chance for a little much needed pampering, such as getting luxury vacation rentals complete with concierge services and just kicking back and relaxing.
What Do Most People Do On Their Vacations?
One of the primary things people do on their vacation is sightseeing. Almost 80% of trips taken in the summer are to places that are anywhere from 50-249 miles away and around 10% of trips are to locations that are 250-400 miles away. Usually summer vacations are a little longer and afford people the opportunity to really get away to places farther away than a couple hours. Around 20% of people who go on vacation travel for the sole purpose of sightseeing — it’s often mixed in with other things. Hitting the beach in the summer, camping, and other outdoor activities are also popular in the summer. Wine tourism is also becoming steadily more popular. Fewer vacations taken in the summer (less than 35%) are to visit someone, whether that’s family or friends.
How Do I Decide What to Do On My Vacation?
If the amount of things you could potentially do on your vacation seems overwhelming, perhaps the first thing you should do is consider your budget. If you’re going abroad, can you splurge on concierge services or do concierge services seem a little out of your budget at the moment? What’s more important to you — guided tours or saving money for food, drinks, and shopping? Would you rather be outside or do you prefer more indoor activities? Do you want to travel internationally or stay a bit closer to home? Your answers to these questions will help you narrow down where you should go on vacation. You can also ask family and friends for any recommendations of places they’ve gone recently and things they’ve done that they loved and suggest others try.
If you have the vacation time, you should take it. It’s a rejuvenation for your body, mind, and spirit. Work will always be there, but the chance to see other sights and sounds and spend time with your family won’t. Indulge yourself this year and take that time off!