More and more people are beginning to see the value in staying home for the holidays rather than going out to vacation somewhere else. These “home vacations” are being referred to as staycations . Due to the economy and the recent downturn of the economy in which people have been losing jobs and money has been extraordinarily tight, increasing numbers of people are opting to stay home because doing so costs less money.
Part of the reason for the rise in staycations has to do with the fact that the price of gasoline has gone up, making it not only more expensive to travel by car, but to travel by airplane as well. Staycations have been both a positive and a negative thing for some people. For example, families have adapted to the idea of staying home for vacation because it gives them a chance to bond more intensely with their families by re discovering the area that they live in. This is great for local businesses such as museums, libraries, parks and the like. It is also great for the families because it helps them to realize that they do not necessarily have to travel across the country in order to have a good time. Rather, all the fun that they need is right in their backyards sometimes!
While staycations have their positive qualities, it has also had a negative effect for some people. For example, businesses such as resorts and theme parks that count on tourists who travel from other states and countries have actually been losing money left and right because they simply aren t entertaining the same massive amounts of people. For this reason, if you do have the funds available, many spa resorts and theme parks have actually been forced to lower their prices for various things in order to entice more people to come to their business because, let s face it; some business is better than no business.
There may come a time (hopefully soon) when the economy starts to pick back up again and staycations will no longer be necessary; but hopefully, people will be able to balance staycations with vacations, recognizing the value in both.While vacations provide families and couples with a fantastic opportunity to get out and travel, allowing them to see a side of the world that they may have never seen before, these vacations can also be extremely costly. Once you factor in food, lodging, sightseeing, transportation and entertainment, suddenly your vacation is looking like it may cost you quite a bit of money. Think about how long it would take you to jump in your car and drive from New York to Florida. How much would it wind up costing you in gasoline alone? How much would food cost along the way? Where would you stay if you became too tired to drive? Again, if you have the funds that will allow you to travel to other places, then vacations are a great idea. However, for the rest of us who are trying to save money and be a little more economical, staycations provide a great outlet for figuring out more creative ways to “dress up” our vacations.