The New York Times reports that there's a price to pay for your staycation. As I posted, many people are skipping their summer vacations and staying at home thanks to the litany of economic problems we've become all too familiar with in the last year.
Here are some of the ways that people pay the price for not taking a vacation:
- Health risk. The Times reports that men who skipped vacations for five straight years had a 30% higher chance of suffering a heart attack than those who took an extended annual break from work each year. It notes that Brooks B. Gump, an associate professor of psychology at SUNY Oswego and a colleague, Karen A. Matthews believe that vacations help the brain build "reserve capacity" which helps it "cope with stressors that come up."
- Discouragement. The Times also quotes Hollister H. Hovey, a public relations executive who lives in Brooklyn, who postponed a trip to Scandinavia this summer because of high air fares and the weak dollar. She said: "It's a tremendous disappointment that you're sort of stuck here. It's too expensive to drive, too expensive to go overseas, because you can't afford to fly, and once you're there, you can't shop. I know that travel is a luxury. But it really plays on the heart and minds of people, because people need that escape."
While people are paying a physical and psychological price for their staycations, businesses that cater to them are suffering as well. The Times reports that the Air Transport Association of America expects a 1% drop in the number of passengers flying from June through August 2008, compared with the same period in 2007.
I guess it's better to skip the vacation and have enough money to feed your family. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan: Are you better off than you were eight years ago?
Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter
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