Sundance Vacations Employees Talk about Bucket Lists

Year after year, it seems that data shows Americans are using less and less of their vacation time. It’s not that they don’t have the time off, but they are simply not using their vacation days.

Why would someone choose to opt out of traveling?

Today is National Plan for Vacation Day and in honor of the special day dedicated to inspiring vacation planning, we asked our employees to take a survey about their travel bucket lists.

You’d think an employee who works for a vacation company would travel more than others, but our employees gave us a number of reasons why they don’t travel as often as they would like to.

In fact, out of the nearly 150 people surveyed, almost half of them said they only “sometimes” cross things off their bucket list each year, meaning their dream getaways are still only ideas and not grounded plans.

Let’s take a look at some of the questions those surveyed answered to give you some insight into the travel habits of a vacation company employee!

Where do people want to go?

Sure people have these ideas floating around or are actively adding to their bucket lists, but where is it they want to go?

The most important step is visualizing your getaway and building up your excitement to book your trip.

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Hawaii was chosen as the number one getaway in our employee survey! Can someone say Aloha?

The place our employees shared they wanted to visit the most was Hawaii, with over 25% of people ranking the destination on their top three list of places recently added to their bucket list.

Lucky for them, Sundance Vacations has properties in Molokai and Kihei, Hawaii.

It seems that beach getaways were the most popular, with 18% wanting to visit Florida as well and a number of others mentioning ocean hot spots like Costa Rica, Cancun, the Bahamas and Jamaica.

What’s so appealing about the beach? Maybe it’s the sand between their toes or the sound of the push and pull of the waves!

Our employees loved the mountains too, mentioning things to do in Colorado and Arizona as well.

Many others actually want to travel abroad, with over 10% of those surveyed sharing their desires to go to Italy. Others mentioned Ireland, Germany and Japan. Looks like it’s time to get your passport ready!

The interesting thing was, people listed dozens and dozens of places they would love to visit, some that have been on their bucket lists for years. So what’s keeping people from getting away?

What keeps you from crossing off items on your bucket list?

Here’s the top reasons holding people back from using their vacation time:

1.) Money

You might have guessed it! People’s wallets are causing hesitation traveling.

In fact, 77% percent of our employees surveyed said money was their biggest reason they couldn’t cross destinations off their bucket list.

Vacations aren’t free, and we get that it can take time to save for your dream getaway, even if we help to travel for less.

Nearly 18% of the employees said that other items on their bucket list that took priority were their car and house, and that goals for getting a new car or renovating their home often stopped them from traveling more. 

We actually have a list of Money Saving Tips- How to Save for Travel in 2017 that we would love you take a look at if you’re in the same boat as our Sundance Vacations employees and looking to keep money in your vacation piggy bank.

Your biggest change could be how you review and monitor your expenses and daily spending, but there are a couple ways you could earn more money without getting a second job. Just check out the link to the article above for more information on money saving tips.

2.) Work Schedule

Some employees say that work keeps them from getting away.

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Some people don’t have a work schedule that allows them to use all the time off they’d like to.

Out of the 129 employees who shared how many paid days they have available in 2017, we found that they averaged approximately 9 days off a year.

In fact, over 36% of people had seven or more days off, some having up to three weeks or more.

We understand that not all companies offer such paid time off benefits, but there are many benefits of vacation days.

Sometimes it’s not that you can’t take the time off work, but that people fear returning to a mountain of work when they come back.

Preparing in advance can combat this fear by getting done what you have to before your trip or ensuring your coworkers and managers have enough time in advance to make arrangements to pick up the slack until your return.

3.) Time

We’re always trying to find time for the important things right? Maybe it’s time to MAKE TIME for vacationing!

Most employees surveyed, almost 34%, said they add new items to their bucket list yearly, so these trips are things they should access at the start of each year.

The first step to making time is planning, which is what National Plan for Vacation Day is all about.

Check out this video on some of the benefits of taking vacation to inspire you to make a bucket list and join the nearly 18% of our employees who are checking off items on their travel list “all the time,” according to our survey.

What can you do to make sure you travel more?

PLAN PLAN PLAN!

We outline simple steps help you plan your getaway in our article Time to #PlanForVacation: Why Planning Matters.

In honor of National Plan for Vacation Day, 43% of our employees vowed to have made travel plans for this year by today.

Now it’s your turn…

Jot down a bucket list at the beginning of the New Year; it’s not too late to make one! After you settle on where you’d like to go, set a date. This is vital!

Setting the date of your vacation is going to lock it into your schedule, and sharing your excitement about it with others will make you more committed to following through.

Perhaps create a motivational vision board to use as a physical reminder to plan or to countdown your trip. Nearly 66% of our employees admit their bucket list is mental, but perhaps having a handwritten list in common sight around your house or on your desk will remind you to get away.

Jennifer Villa
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