At least, that's what many of us would like to do. Travelocity's most recent poll on 'oblications' (obligation vacations) revealed that while 93 percent of us use at least some of our hard-earned vacation time traveling for out-of-town obligations, more than half (58 percent) would rather spend that time taking a real vacation.
CNN.com recently ran a piece (and used our poll data) on the idea of skipping family holidays in favor of a vacation. But though the beaches may beckon, old habits – and family traditions – die hard. Are you really going to break Grandma’s heart and tell her you won’t be there to pour her (too many) drinks this Thanksgiving? How will you break it to your nieces and nephews that, sorry!, you won’t be there to help them open their Santa gifts? Could you do it? Maybe it depends how good the deal is on that vacation you’ve been coveting.
The least-favorite oblication is one spent with the in-laws, followed closely by weddings and other milestone events. But savvy travelers how figured out a few ways to cope with their oblications. Some stay in a hotel (48 percent), while others will plan activities on their own (38 percent) or combine their obligations with a leisure vacation. This works very well if your oblication takes you somewhere fabulous, like a beach in Mexico.
And what if you’re the one hosting out-of-towners on their oblications this holiday season? Turns out that 41 percent of you enjoy using your time off to entertain visitors. However, one-fifth don’t enjoy entertaining, but feel obligated to do so.
You know what I think the problem is? I think we just don’t get enough time off from work. My guess is that most of us would love to go to our friend’s wedding in the Caribbean, to the annual family reunion in the Poconos, to Christmas dinner at our sister’s in Topeka AND have just a few days left over to relax at the place of our choosing. Readers, do you agree?
Comments
Nov 17, 2009
I think you can find a balance between oblications and real vacations. It's true that the holidays often result in vacations that aren't really vacations, but I think you can turn those travels into something fun by staying at a nice hotel and planning fun activities that you've never done before.
Also, make sure you block a time in the spring or summer for a REAL vacation if you aren't able to have one during the holidays.
Nov 25, 2009
I agree! I wish I had more time off - and that my time off was paid. This year I have to spend my only vacation on an "oblication" and it's bumming me out. I wrote about it on my own blog if you want to see my tips for how I plan to grin and bear it. http://bit.ly/1YWmXS
Happy holidays!
HF