VACATION DEPRIVATION

ALL WORK NO PLAY

- Expediareveals disgruntled working Brits feel rejuvenated after a holiday-

One in five Brits (20%) cancel annual leave due to work pressure, despite more than three quarters (78%) recognising the benefits a holiday has on their work performance, according to a global study.

The research, conducted by Harris Interactive for Expedia, also revealed that despite 20% managing to take their full 28 day entitlement, many Brits are still logging on to their work emails via their phones while on holiday. A quarter (26%) admit to staying in touch with the office while on holiday – a worrying trend that has doubled over the past two years. While it’s a similar story for the French (24%) and the Germans (22%), it appears the Spanish (14%) and Italians (16%) are much better at taking a real break from work.

This trend is amplified further with 8% of the nation feeling they are unable to take a break because of work commitments, while one in six (15%) claim not to schedule holidays far enough in advance and so miss out on their holiday quota. Despite this, according to Expedia’s recent travel bookings report, most Brits are planners with more than half securing their holidays well in advance in order to make the most of online deals.

“Almost half (46%) of Brits reported they feel rejuvenated after a much needed and well-earned break, while 32% acknowledged it increases their productivity in the office. The same is true for our European neighbours, except for the Spanish –where only a third (39%) say they feel rejuvenated after their holiday. Although we’re faced with increasing work pressures, this research further highlights how important it is to take time out to recharge and catch up with family and friends,” says Andrew Warner, Expedia.

““The key is planning and Expedia can help with this. Whether you’re organised explorer or more of a last minute traveller, there are always great deals to be had on Expedia.co.uk. Expedia has been working on a number of tools to help make it easier for busy people who don’t have a lot of time for holiday planning. We have introduced fare alerts for your favourite destinations and the new Expedia IE8 browser, so you can find a great deal for that much deserved break, whilst getting on with your day, ” continues Andrew Warner, Expedia.

Expedia’s research shows a clear strain in people feeling they can’t switch off from work and truly ‘get away from it all,” says leading psychologist, Professor Cary Cooper.

“While there is an overwhelming desire for people to take a proper break to refresh themselves, the pressure to log on and stay in touch with the office is a significant problem. A little time away can do wonders for productivity and general health and people really shouldn’t feel guilty about it. We’re not talking about a two week tropical retreat either – just a few days away without phones and access to emails can make a real difference. Modern lifestyles means that we’re on the go 24/7 and need a little recuperation from time to time. It’s good to switch off occasionally and just relax,” continues Cooper.

Despite getting one of the highest holiday allowances in Europe, 16% of French people confess they take more holiday time than their entitlement permits. Our Swedish and Italian counterparts are also lagging behind with nearly half (49%) admitting they miss out on valuable holiday time.

The research, which surveyed a total of 9,000 adults across nine countries including Europe and the USA shows Britain is on par with Germany and Norway for average holiday days taken.

Yet, for the third year in a row Brits still don’t compare to those in the Mediterranean where some countries receive annual holiday entitlement of up to 37 days. Brits should consider themselves lucky compared with the USA, which gets a paltry 17 days out of the office.  While the Brits are pretty good at taking most of their holiday entitlement (91%), despite the French minority who take even more than their generous allowance, in general no single nation takes their full allowance with the workaholic Japanese faring the worst and only taking 54% of their meagre 16.5 days.

Ranked by number of days taken where 1 is the lowest

Expedia top tips to get the most from your holiday allowance

• Book your time off work well in advance –and take advantage of the breadth of choice that advanced bookings offer
• Don’t leave booking until Monday –this is the most popular day for holiday bookings so by leaving it to Monday you might miss out
• Book a couple of days off at a time – if you can’t bear to be out of the office for too long, enjoy a long weekend to recharge your batteries. You can always leave booking your holiday until the last minute as there are always great last minute deals on Expedia.co.uk
• Book your holiday around a bank holiday– this way you only need to book a few days off work
• Leave your phone at home (or even better at work)– that way you can enjoy a proper break and will be more productive when you get back to the office

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For further press information, please contact the Expedia press office team:

Telephone: 0870 990 5427

Email: expediapressoffice@golinharris.com

EDITORS NOTES:

About Expedia

With access to 145,000 hotels around the world (including boutique hotels as well as major hotel brand names),over 300 airlines along with specialist tools to help refine these choices, Expedia.co.uk helps travellers to find and create the trip that best matches their individual requirements. Expedia.co.uk partners with loyalty programme Nectar in the UK enabling its customers to collect 200 Nectar points on flight only, hotel or car hire bookings and 1000 points on package purchases through www.expedia.co.uk.

Expedia.co.uk is part of the Expedia Inc. brand portfolio. The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers the opportunity to reach a highly valuable audience of in-market travel consumers through Expedia Media Solutions. Expedia also powers bookings for some of the world's leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates through Expedia® Affiliate Network.

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