India most vacation deprived nation in world: Report

India ranked the most vacation deprived nation in the world, with 41 per cent have not gone for vacation in the last six months, according to the annual Expedia 2018 Vacation Deprivation Report.

According to report, 75 per cent of Indian feel vacation deprived, as they could not get time off work, which is the highest in the world and significantly more than last year’s 60 per cent. It followed by South Korea (72 per cent) and Hong Kong (69 per cent) respectively.

Spain and UK are among the least vacation-deprived countries with only 47 per cent and 48 per cent respectively, the report said.

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The Northstar Research Partners conducted the survey on behalf of Expedia, an American global technology company, with an aimed to research the vacation deprivation which is on the rise, especially in India.

“We have seen an increase in support from Indian employers to take vacations. However, employees still do not avail their full vacation days as they feel they are missing out on important work decisions, fear of being seen as less committed or finding it difficult to co-ordinate time with their travel companion. Our study also reflects that 18 per cent Indians feel that those who are successful at their job don’t take vacation days,” Expedia India marketing head Manmeet Ahluwalia said.

Th online survey was carried out from September 19-28, 2018 across North America, Europe, South America and Asia-Pacific (in 19 countries) among 11,144 employed adults aged 18 and over.

 “We dug deeper to understand reasons which are keeping Indians away from taking vacations and realised that they are the least likely to get a free pass while vacationing. They are expected to be available to their colleagues and supervisors, making 34 per cent Indians check their mails at least once per day,” Ahluwalia said.

For 64 per cent of Indians the impending workload after they come back from vacation is an important factor in deciding the length of their holiday, said Ahluwalia.

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“Not surprised to know that 17 per cent of Indians have not taken any leave from past one year. These figures throw light on various factors resulting in making India the most vacation deprived nation in the world,” he added.

However, 55 per cent Indians feel that vacation deprivation affects their productivity.

Though the feeling of vacation deprivation among Indians have gone up, their guilt associated with taking a vacation has gone down by 9 per cent to 63 per cent this year compared to the previous year.

Professional reasons and aspirations for longer vacation is one of the many reasons that keep them away from availing leaves, it said.

(With inputs from agencies)