Forget frequent flier miles, last-minute getaways and even road trips. Nearly half of Americans say they won’t be taking a vacation this summer, mostly because they can’t afford it, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The new AP-NORC survey, conducted in May, said 43 percent of Americans won’t be taking a summer vacation. The top reason for skipping a trip was the cost, cited by 49 percent of non-vacationers. Another 11 percent said they can’t take the time off from work, while 3 percent said they don’t like to be away from work.
About half of Americans living in households making less than $50,000 a year don’t plan to take any summer vacation this year, and they’re especially likely to cite costs as a reason.
And if your employer gives you paid vacation days, consider yourself lucky: Forty-one percent of those surveyed who work full or part time said they do not get any paid time off from their employers to use for vacation. Younger and lower-income workers are especially likely to not get any paid time off.
Source: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
Danny Aguilar of Lakewood, Colorado, says the cost is what stops him from planning a vacation. He works in information technology, but because he’s self-employed, “the income is very unknown. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You never really know what’s coming. You can’t really budget.”
Other findings from the poll:
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