10 travel resolutions for 2010

As 2009 draws to a close and we look back on the last 365 days of travel, it’s time to make some resolutions for the coming year. Here are ten travel resolutions that will help you be a happier, more fulfilled traveler in 2010.

Pack lighter
Nearly every domestic carrier now charges for the first checked bag. The fees are increasing as airlines are relying on the fees to supplement revenue and they show no signs of stopping. If you haven’t yet mastered the art of packing for a domestic trip with just a carry-on, now is the time to do so. Limit yourself to one pair of shoes in your bag, bring clothes that mix and match, plan to wash and re-wear your clothes if they get dirty, and wear your bulkiest items on the plane. Resist the urge to pack for every contingency, learn the 3-1-1 rules, and know that any minor inconvenience you suffer from packing light may be worth the money saved. Plus, there’s no waiting around for your luggage to be unloaded and no danger of it getting lost en route.

Remember to unplug

Many people are afraid to truly take a vacation from work. They worry about how it will affect their career or stress about the amount of work they’ll come back to. If they do manage to make it out of the office, they often spend their whole trip checking email and fielding work calls and texts. Step away from the Blackberry! Sign out of Twitter, shut down Facebook, and put your “out of office” notification on your email. You’ve worked hard for this vacation so unplug and actually enjoy it.Explore your own backyard
Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you plan a “staycation” this year. But I will point out that exploring a new place doesn’t have to mean jetting off to a destination halfway around the world. If finances are tight but you still want to take use some vacation time and broaden your horizons, spend your days discovering a place you haven’t been within the US, within your own state, or even within a few hours drive of your own home. In between trips, find ways to do some virtual traveling by learning about your dream destinations or celebrating other cultures.

Slow down
There’s so much to see in this great big world, and so little time to see it in, that it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to squeeze in as much as possible on each trip. But when you do that, you’re just ticking things off a list and experiencing nothing. Slow down and take your time exploring a few places rather than trying to skim the surface of many. You many not be able to say you’ve seen every country in the world, but you can say you’ve understood a few.

Think outside the box for destinations
Resolve to shake up your travel m.o. in 2010 If you always opt for a European getaway, head to Asia this year. If most of your trips are to big cities where you can wine, dine, shop and visit museums, try a trip to a quiet beach or a countryside setting instead. Consider what you want to get out of a trip and look for other destinations that fit the bill. Dive enthusiasts who’ve explored most of the Caribbean’s depths can try the waters of the Mediterranean. Traveling foodies who’ve eaten their way around Europe can sample the tastes of India or learn the traditions of Mexican cooking. Reconsider places you might have dismissed before, especially those that are emerging as new destinations so that you can beat the crowds.

Try an alternative form of lodging
Who says you always have to stay in a hotel? This year, try a different kind of lodging. Sleep in a bed and breakfast, rent an apartment, CouchSurf or sign up for a home-swap. You may find that it’s not for you, or you may find your new favorite way to stay. As a bonus, alternative forms of lodging are often cheaper than traditional hotels.

Travel green
Help protect the places you love so that future generations can enjoy them. Resolve to cut back on your carbon footprint and do what you can to travel green. Try to stay in eco-friendly accommodations, take public transportation when you can, reduce your energy use at home, and invest in carbon offsets to help mitigate the damage caused by air travel.

Try one new thing on every trip
Travel is about experiencing new things, so why bother going to a new destination if you are just going to do the same activities, eat the same food, and explore the same interests? This year, challenge yourself to try at least one new thing on every trip. Sample a food you’ve never eaten, sip a local drink, learn a native skill, and engage in an activity you’ve never done before. It’s easy to fall into the routine of seeking out the same experiences in different places so challenge yourself to try something new.

Get out of your comfort zone
We travel to discover, not only new people and places, but also new things about ourselves. Push yourself out of your comfort zone in 2010. Try not only new things that you’re eager to experience, but also new things that scare you just a little. Eat that slimy, still-squirming mystery dish in China or face your fear of heights climbing the Sydney Bridge. You’ll learn a little about the world around you, and maybe even more about yourself.

Remember that travel is a state of mind
It’s easy to approach exotic cultures with respect and curiosity. It’s a lot harder to look at different cultures in our country and accept that just because they do things differently, it doesn’t mean they are wrong. Bring the acceptance you learn on the road home with you. Don’t lose your sense of wonder and curiosity once you are back on familiar ground. Remember that travel is a state of mind and you may be just as surprised to discover the world around you as you are destinations farther away.

Swiss vacations about to increase?

It looks like the Swiss won’t have to worry about how to look busy while they’re on vacation. If a referendum by Swiss citizens passes, the current standard of four vacation weeks a year may increase by 50 percent. The measure was good enough to pick up 125,000 signatures, but it still has a long way to go.

The group behind the referendum, Travail.Suisse, cites increased stress in the workplace as driving the increased vacation need. People are working harder, and they just need a bit more of a break. Well-rested workers are happier and more productive.

A date for the vote hasn’t been set yet.

So, if you’re Swiss and you need a few ideas on where to take your extra two weeks of vacation, come back to Gadling often. We don’t take vacations.

Who works harder? Aussies or Americans? What does this mean for tourism?

In this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Australians are touted as working the hardest out of people in the developed world.

Here are the statistics given to prove the point. In Australia:

  • Almost 60% of the people with full-time jobs don’t take all of their four-week vacation time.
  • Years of this practice have many people with 8 weeks of unused time.
  • Corporate men ages 35-49 with kids under 12 are the biggest culprits of this practice.

I find the statistics interesting since I don’t know many jobs in the U.S. where people have a starting vacation time of more than two weeks. Many begin a job with less than that. Many folks don’t even get a paid vacation. In order for people to have acquired eight weeks of unused time in the U.S., they would have had to have not taken ANY vacation for at least four years if they are the ones with the two-week time frame. In a Gadling post in 2007, Willy pointed out the U.S. statistics which don’t bode well for those looking for R&R on a beach somewhere.

However, given that if the Australian statistics are indeed correct, and who really cares anyway, the larger point that the article makes is important indeed. Unused vacation time means unspent tourist dollars. In today’s economy, tourism could be a big economic boost to many parts of both countries–Australia and the U.S.

In Australia, the not taken time equates to $31 billion in holiday pay. Yowza! Hoping to tap into the dough, Tourism Australia has a program called “No Leave, No Life,” in order to get the business community to buy into the idea of the importance of taking that vacation time.

I think the U.S. needs to tap into the idea of more vacation time, period. If people are given four weeks, they may take two at least.

As part of the campaign in Australia, and I’d bet the U.S., part of the TV and print ads need to address the issue of how important it is for dads to spend time with their children. AND show dads having fun doing it.

Anyone with kids who are bickering at home with each other and arguing about cleaning their rooms, or whining from the backseat, “How long before we get there?” may think that work is actually more relaxing than that family vacation.

Hey Americans: Take a Vacation!

Recently, I told my boss that I wanted to take a week-long vacation in July. “A whole week, huh?” he asked.

“Yup.” I smiled.

“Do you have the vacation time for a whole week?”

“Yes.”

“Really?” he sighed. “It seems like you’re always on vacation.”

“That’s interesting,” I said. “Because it only feels like that to you.”

Before entering his office, I felt ashamed to ask to use the vacation time that I had rightfully accrued. When I left his office, I was just happy the whole experience was over. Why, I wondered, when I earn vacation time, am I hesitant to ask to use it? How silly of me.

However, it seems I’m not the only silly one out there.

According to a recently released report by the Center for Economic Policy and Research (called “No-Vacation Nation“), a staggering 45% of US workers did not use all of their vacation in 2006, and 15% of workers lost at least one of their vacation days, claiming they didn’t have time to use it. Moreover, in 2007, an estimated 51 million Americans – more than one-third of the workforce – will not use all their vacation days, according to a survey by Expedia. Stunningly, this translates into 574 million lost vacation days. Poor, sad vacation days…

Why aren’t Americans taking vacations? According to a recent (and excellent) article by Marilyn Gardner in the CS Monitor, non-travelers cite lots of reasons, including:
They have too much to do.

  • They can’t afford a getaway.
  • They are too tired to plan a vacation.
  • They want to save vacation for emergencies.
  • They don’t want to return to a heavy workload.
  • They find coordinating schedules with a spouse or friend too burdensome.
  • They take their cues from those around them (i.e., their bosses and co-workers aren’t taking vacations, so maybe they shouldn’t either).

There are other reasons, of course, why Americans don’t take time off work. Among the most insidious: the US remains the only developed country in the whole, wide, vacationing world that does not guarantee workers a paid vacation. Conversely, Europeans are guaranteed by law the right to a minimum of 20 days of paid time off per year, and some European nations guarantee 25 or 30 days. In fact, when you consider both paid holidays and paid annual leave, Finlanders receive 39 days of paid time off per year. And my boss was moaning about my week-long absence!

The most amazing thing I learned in reading “No-Vacation Nation” is this: some countries pay employees a premium for being on vacation! In New Zealand and Sweden, for example, annual leave is paid at a higher rate than the worker’s usual salary; 112 percent the usual pay in New Zealand and 108 percent the usual rate in Sweden. Austria is even more generous: “employers pay workers taking their month-long vacation a ’13th month’ salary, paid at the same time as the usual monthly salary, but taxed at a lower rate.” In other words, Austrians receive double their regular salary — to NOT show up to work.

What’s the point of all this? Well, I have several points, actually.

First, we need to convince our elected officials to re-visit this policy in the US. We need them to change the laws, requiring companies to provide mandatory leave for their workers. Lawmakers should be aware that Americans need quality time with their families; relaxing vacations with their friends; and the opportunity to expose themselves to new ideas, cultures, and experiences. Ultimately, this time off will make for a more productive — and more innovative — work force.

Second, we all need to move to Finland or some other country that offers ample vacation packages.

Third, if the second option is not a viable option, just be darned sure to use the time off that you earn. If you’re worried about falling behind at work, chew on this: you’ll actually be more productive upon returning to work. According to Wallace Huffman, a professor of labor economics at Iowa State University, “Productivity could increase by up to 60 percent for employees in the month or two following a good vacation a week or two long.” Maybe I need to tell my boss that I’ll be more efficient upon my return from my July trip.

Finally, if you’re worried that you can’t afford to take a vacation, then just take the time off and putter around the house. Sleep late. Read a book. Check out World Hum, which gave me the inspiration for this post. Visit the park. Explore the places in your community that you’ve heard about but never seen. A vacations taken at home is known as “staycation.” Take a staycation and feel rejuvenated.

Whatever you do, just take some time off!