{"id":1108,"date":"2016-10-11T01:07:17","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T01:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cohnmarketistg.wpengine.com\/?post_type=perspectives&p=1108"},"modified":"2016-10-11T01:07:17","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T01:07:17","slug":"work-martyr-syndrome-tourism-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohnmarketing.com\/work-martyr-syndrome-tourism-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Work Martyr Syndrome a Threat to Tourism Marketing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Decreased Vacation Time Affects Tourism<\/h2>\n

By Amy Larson, VP: Marketing<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you take your vacation? All of it? I bet you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

According to Project Time Off, more than half (55%) of U.S. employees leave unused paid vacation days on the table every year. In 2015 alone, Americans wasted 222 million unused days of paid vacation due to what experts have labeled \u201cWork Martyr Syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work Martyr Syndrome is defined by an employee\u2019s reluctance to take his\/her earned vacation days due to fear, pressure, responsibility, company culture, or something else.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, this is a new phenomenon. Between the years of 2000 and 2015, Americans decreased their paid vacation usage by 4.1 days\u2014nearly a week. Project Time Off calls this statistic \u201cAmerica\u2019s Lost Week,\u201d and the non-profit is devoted to encouraging workers to reclaim their paid vacation days.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0think it could have a huge impact on tourism marketing.<\/p>\n

Are you rolling your eyes? You shouldn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vacation provides a number of important benefits at the workplace (less burnout, higher productivity, improved mental and physical health, better relationships, to name a few).<\/p>\n

Vacation also has an astonishing impact on our economy. Consider Travel & Tourism, one of COHN\u2019s strongest verticals. Citing Project Time Off again: \u201cHad Americans used the vacation time they earned in 2015, it would have meant $223 billion in spending for the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to address the elephant in the room.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those of us in travel and tourism marketing, Work Martyr Syndrome is a threat we should acknowledge in our tourism campaigns.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the opportunity of reclaiming \u201cAmerica\u2019s Lost Week\u201d is worth chasing with campaigns that speak directly to the fears, pressures, and insecurities created by Work Martyr Syndrome. For example:<\/p>\n