Expedia Report Reveals UAE Millennials as the Most Vacation-Deprived Generation

• Despite advocating for a healthy work-life balance, 50% of Millennials living in the UAE are holiday deprived and struggle with taking, planning, and enjoying a holiday
• Expedia’s 24^th Annual Vacation Deprivation Report takes a deep dive into the UAE market, for the first time following the brand expansion launch
•  Millennial employees typically spend six months to a year on average without taking a vacation, as 19% confessed their personal time didn’t allow them to vacation last year
• Expedia unveils tips on how to get more out of your time off by taking inspiration from the least holiday deprived countries around the world
• UK Psychologist Dr Becky Spelman reveals the positive impact holidays can have on wellbeing and relationships, including the ‘holiday halo’ effect

UAE, June 21, 2024 — Today, Expedia released its 24^th Vacation Deprivation report, which takes a deep dive into the UAE market, for the first time following the brand expansion launch. UAE Millennial residents have a higher percentage of vacation deprivation than Gen Zers, 50% compared to 35% to the latter group. It also shows that over half of Millennials surveyed are full-time employees. However, Gen Zers globally are more vacation deprived than any other generation.

“Despite receiving more than six weeks of annual leave from their employers and using all of it UAE residents still feel vacation deprived” says Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group brands public relations. “Millennial workers have difficulties planning a vacation -57% feel overwhelmed by the process and find booking travel stressful because they never know if they’re getting a good deal. There’s so much choice that contemplating travel options can become a major mental burden. Our minds want shortcuts, that’s why the Expedia app helps travelers with every step of their travel journey.”  

While UAE Millennials overall take time off less frequently, more than half of Gen X workers (33%) go six months or more between holidays. Only 5% of Millennials allow themselves a break from work every month. For today’s youngest workforce, Gen Z, the biggest thing holding them back is saving for a big trip this year. While being money-conscious is not exclusive to any particular generation, it’s most prevalent in Gen X with (34%) saying they much prefer saving their money for a more fulfilling trip, versus just 29% of Millennials and 27% of Gen Zers.

UAE Millennial residents are not as vacation deprived as other Europeans and leave the fewest amount of days behind

International vacation deprivation has remained the same in 2023, with approximately two-thirds of employed professionals saying they feel somewhat or very vacation deprived. ​

For UAE’s Millennials, 50% feel holiday deprived according to Expedia’s report, so with half the nation yearning for more holidays, it is perhaps not a surprise given that 32% of went a full year without a holiday last year.

Millennial women feel just a little more vacation deprived than men (58% versus 57%). The top reasons for Millennials of both genders for not going on holiday are that they are saving for a bigger vacation this year (29%), saving time off for unexpected leave (27%) and have difficulties in balancing work schedules or workloads due to shortages in staffing (26%).

International travel destinations are where most Millennials spend their holiday days  (52%). However, their perfect make up of annual trips would be to take two long weekends, four one weeklong holidays and two 14 days holidays per year.

UAE employers champion holiday time, with Gen Zers eager for a 4-day working week

On average Millennial employees living in the UAE receive 25.5 holiday days from their employer and ended up using between 21 to 30 days in 2023, while those lucky ones with unlimited leave used 30 days. In 2024, Millennials plan on taking the same amount of holidays they did in 2023 and the nation’s employers are encouraging it. Expedia’s report showed that UAE employers are doing a good job of encouraging people to take holiday days, with between 80% to 81% of Millennial and Gen Z workers respectively feel their employer is supportive of them taking holidays.

Over 40% of Gen Zers are in favour of moving to a 4-day week though, predominantly to have more personal time for things like appointments, managing the household and projects, with a quarter saying they’d use that extra time to travel.

Science of the vacation: why holidays are the ultimate mood booster

As expected, almost two thirds (64%) of UAE Millennials feel their mood boost when they were on holiday but interestingly over 44% see their mood improve when they book the trip and even the planning of it boosting their mood (35%).

That holiday feeling is all about spending quality time with loved ones for Millennials (61%), for 60% it is about rest and relaxing and for 31% it is that freeing feeling from the daily responsibilities. Almost 71% of Millennials think holidays are good for health and wellbeing, that it is a deserved basic right and that they always come back feeling less anxious.  

Holiday Habits From Around the World 

With the majority of UAE Millennials having feelings of vacation deprivation and days left behind, there are lessons to be learned from other countries. Looking globally, the biggest year-on-year shift in Vacation Deprivation sees Germans become 14% more holiday deprived versus last year and the Japanese 10% more. On the flip side, Mexicans and Australians saw a positive shift, feeling 13% and 8% less deprived respectively.

Most to least vacation deprived:Germany (84%) + 14% YoYFrance (69%) – 2% YoYUSA (65%) +2% YoYMexico (64%) –13% YoYSingapore (62%) +4% YoYCanada (58%) +1% YoYAustralia (57%) -8% YoYHong Kong (57%) -4% YoYUK (56%) Same YoYNew Zealand (55%) +1% YOYJapan (53%) +10% YoY

Most to least vacation days taken:France – 29 daysHong Kong – 28 daysGermany – 27 daysUK – 25 daysSingapore – 19 daysAustralia – 18 daysNew Zealand – 18 daysCanada – 18 daysMexico – 14 daysJapan – 12 daysUSA – 11 days

Most to least days left behind:Japan – 7 days leftAustralia – 3 days leftNew Zealand – 3 days leftMexico – 2 days leftGermany – 2 days leftFrance – 2 days leftUK – 2 days leftSingapore – 1 day leftUSA – 1 day leftCanada – 1 day leftHong Kong – 2 days over

• Japan, the least vacation-deprived country in the world, makes weekends count: Japanese respondents are seven times more likely to take a trip monthly compared to other countries, despite only taking 11 days of holiday annually. Their strategy: Take advantage of public holidays or office and school closures to schedule frequent, short getaways that allow for a break from the routine and a quick refresh between longer trips, without dipping into precious holiday allocation. 
• France, took the most days off of any country globally, says spread it out: Brits didn’t use all their time off in 2023, leaving two days behind, with almost one in five saving up for one big trip instead. French respondents, on the other hand, tend to shy away from the “big trip,” with nearly a third (30%) opting to spread their days off evenly throughout the year instead. Taking the pressure off a big annual trip can save time and holiday allowance.
• Hong Kong, the only market not to leave any annual leave days behind, take more than their allocation: In 2023, took 2 days more than their annual allocation and looking ahead, 15% vow to do it again in 2024 (highest globally).  

Expedia partnered with leading UK Psychologist Dr Becky Spelman, who backs up these findings, and reveals the science behind holidays and how it impacts your life, including the ‘holiday halo’ effect. She explains: “Everyone’s idea of what a great vacation looks like is different, but having some meaningful downtime is absolutely essential for our mental and physical health. Like Expedia, I am championing the idea that no vacation days should be left behind and I challenge everyone to take time off, rest, relax and enjoy vacation time with your loved ones.”

Dr Spelman’s top five positive impacts holidays can have on our well-being:

1. Reduce stress – Even when we really love our jobs, work can be stressful. When we are stressed, our bodies produce elevated levels of adrenaline and cortisol, making us hyperalert, and causing our muscles to tense. While short-term stress is a healthy response to danger, chronic stress impacts both our mental and physical health, contributing to symptoms such as indigestion, high blood pressure, muscle tension, and more. Regular vacations can make an enormous difference on stress levels as these are periods when we can focus on our wellbeing, utterly relax, and unwind.
2. Brain Break – Vacations are not only time away from our duties but can make us work more effectively. You know how sometimes your computer needs a reboot? Our brains are much the same. Over time, work stress can build up to an unsustainable level and our brain functions start to slow down and work less effectively. When we take a break, it’s easier for our brains to absorb new information, process new sensations and create new memories – a process known as “cognitive flexibility”. The benefits can last long after the vacation is over. By taking time off and “rebooting” our brain, we return refreshed, which can lead to longer term job satisfaction.
3. Serotonin boost leads to a ‘holiday halo’ – Having a vacation when we get to focus on ourselves and what makes us happy is important to our wellbeing. Planning the vacation, going on it and then reflecting afterwards on what we’ve done, all boosts happiness, and along with it the levels of serotonin in the brain, contributing to positive mood and a healthy brain – for much longer than any vacation lasts. Elevated mood can persist for at least a month following a vacation, and that even just taking a break once a year can reduce stress levels at work in general.
    
4. Quality family time that lasts – Vacations are times when families can devote themselves to one another, have fun, and really getting to know one another as individuals. When we have new experiences, we create new neural connections in our brains and the human brain continues to develop those connections for a lifetime. These are particularly important in a child’s developing brain, as memories created in childhood can persist for years, and positive associations can cause our bodies to secrete feel-good hormones, such as serotonin, even many years later.
5. Travel and learn – Vacations are downtime, but they are also times when we learn a lot. The very act of travelling, of seeing, tasting, and experiencing new things is a learning experience in and of itself – and having new experiences leads to the creation of new neural pathways, helping to keep our mind stimulated, and open to learn and adapt from whatever life might throw at it. Whatever age we are, we can return from vacation intellectually stimulated, open to new experiences, and ready for more.

Dr Spelman’s top five positive impacts holidays can have on relationships:

1. Creating memories – When we look back on our lives, our memories often centre around the exceptional moments: anniversaries, birthdays, Christmases and, of course, vacations, and these stand-out events lead to memories that last forever. Recalling special moments, talking about them, and looking at photographs can bring back the positive emotions and feelings of togetherness that help keep a relationship strong, while those feelings lead to the secretion of serotonin, which makes us feel a heady sense of happiness, while contributing to a general sense of wellbeing.
2. Less tension. We can all get short tempered with those closest to us at times but by taking meaningful vacations, we reduce our overall levels of stress, resulting in us being less likely to react negatively when speedbumps come along in our relationships. By removing chronic stress from the equation, and introducing new and positive experiences, we are giving our brains the opportunity to learn and rediscover the things we appreciate in our loved ones. Because we are more relaxed and happier, we are less likely to default to fight-or-flight mode when there’s a problem, and consequently are less irritable and less likely to argue with the people we love.
3. Pushing us out of our routine. Most of us are busy, busy, busy with the daily grind. We’re often exhausted and each week can seem the same as the next. By going on vacation with our loved one, we can break out of our usual routine, do new things, be spontaneous in a way we can’t usually and see one another in a new light. By breaking out of autopilot and getting comfortable with change, we keep our brain young, by giving it the opportunity to develop new neural networks in response to new experiences.
4. Learn something new together – It could be a yoga retreat, cooking class or hiking holiday that pushes you both beyond your comfort level. Whatever your shared interests are, a vacation is an opportunity to try something new and learn something about one another in the process. The intensity of shared positive emotions can create extraordinary bonds, and not just when you are living the experience. Shared recollections, long after the vacation is over, will trigger the same feel-good cascade of hormones and chemicals that result from enjoyable experiences, and that foster feelings of togetherness.
5. Improves physical intimacy – In our busy lives, physical intimacy can get pushed aside. It can be difficult to find time to be romantic when we are tired and stressed. But when we are on holiday, we have all the time in the world and can relax together, make one another feel good and rekindle the passion. In fact, research shows that people who are intimate more often report higher levels of happiness and better physical health. The benefits show more effective immune systems, a lower rate of premature death and, among older adults, better recall and cognitive function.