As a result of the crisis less people plan to go on vacation. Some cannot afford it while others fear they would lose their job if they go on holiday. The global economic crisis affects many parts of people’s lives and tourism behavior is definitely among the affected issues. According to a recent CareerBuilder survey,
36 per cent of working Europeans do not intend to take a holiday in 2009. Among these workers 41 per cent will not go on holiday because they can not afford it, while 10 per cent of them fear to leave their workplace now in time of the crisis since they do not want to lose their job. The situation is similar in the US. The survey was conducted from May 26 to June 4, 2009 by CareerBuilder; 1,025 employed workers participated in it. There are also workers who will not go on holiday but they are going to take days off anyway. What do they plan to do? Some 21 per cent of them stated they will use the free time to look for another employer, others plan to visit their family and friends (17 per cent), fifteen per cent of them will use the time to read or write, 11 per cent of the surveyed wanted to catch up on sleep. Others will work elsewhere, volunteer or do household chores.
Among those who will go on holiday this year, 58 per cent plan to spend it closer to home and 31 per cent will not leave their country. Most of the workers (48 per cent) do not expect changes in their spending compared with the previous year’s holiday, 32 per cent plan to spend less and only 20 per cent of them will spend more.The recession certainly does not help people to enjoy their holiday. These days everyone stays somehow connected to their work. Mobile phones and computers made it possible to reach anybody almost everywhere. This is perhaps good for employer but it could ruin one’s holiday.
