One of my favourite buzz words from the recent global financial crisis is ‘staycation’ – the act of holidaying or travelling in the country you live rather than taking off abroad. The premise is that it can save you money and also help drive money back into your home country’s economy, thereby resulting in the alleviation of the recession, and a very happy you because you’ve just got to explore more of your country than you may have ever got to otherwise. But does it really work this way?
I guess I’m probably not the person to ask, being an Australian living in London, but I do like the idea of it. It may not be as shiny and exciting as setting off abroad, but I definitely see the merit, especially when you are like me – someone who has travelled around the world but has barely seen her own country. But take me back six years ago and the prospect of travelling around Australia and working along the way probably wouldn’t have been that exciting – mostly because I needed to get some work experience overseas to get myself on the career ladder, and I’d had enough of miserable casual jobs to last me a lifetime, so the concept of the stay cation was not relevant, as my very reason for wanting to travel was to go to a country with lots of jobs, and be able to see other parts of the world far from my own. In this instance the stay cation doesn’t work, but for people where career isn’t a deciding factor – ie. you work for yourself, or are remotely based, then I think it’s a fabulous idea and one that we should all do for the sake of our countries – they deserve it after all!
Sure staycations will never replace the gap year student who has dreamt of doing a round the world trip ever since they were 13, or the person who loves a specific country for their own reasons, but for the cash strapped students being further beasted by growing tuition fees or someone who just wants to travel but doesn’t mind where, the staycation can be a great option. After all, there are always so many exciting travel options wherever you are in the world, sometimes we just fail to see them when they’re right in front of your eyes.
And I doubt there are many people out there who can say they have seen every corner of their homeland – it may seem boring in the beginning, but after some research you’ll be amazed at the destinations you can visit at home – I know I’m guilty of thinking I’ve seen most of the UK, but in reality I still have so much more to see, and I plan on staycationing quite a bit over the next year – I don’t want to get lazy as an expat, so I’ll definitely be giving it a go, and I urge you to as well – you never know what you might find!
What destination close to home are you still guilty of not seeing? For me it’s Ayers Rock!
Photo Credits – Thanks to Wolfgang Staudt (Attribution License)
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The problem with Canada is that it is more expensive for locals to travel to the opposite coast than it is to go to USA or even Europe. From British Columbia, I can go to London, Rome, Paris etc. for the same price that I can go to Montreal, Toronto or Halifax. To travel by train is even more ludicrous!
However, I often travel to Vancouver, California, Las Vegas, Washington state etc. and I really enjoy the West Coast. One trip I am able to take is a cruise from Seattle to Alaska back to Vancouver, which I will be doing in September.
I think the staycation is a great idea for Americans as there is so much to see in this nation or various cultures and it would feel as though you would be in a different country. The south for example is worlds apart from Seattle or Los Angeles. A staycation is great for the time being if one is in a bind due to the turbulent economy but if you can afford it, it is a great time to capitalize on deals as many places, airlines are also desperate to drum up business in this economy. So I suppose it depends on situation.
The Wanderfull Traveler
My understanding of a “staycation” is a little different. It’s when the traveler stays home, i.e. the ‘stay’ part. Maybe they get a hotel room one night for the experience, but the idea is to take advantage of what their home city has to offer by visiting local theatres, restaurants and museums. Being a tourist in your own town, so to speak. I think it’s a nice idea for getting someone out of their normal routine and it helps people get to know their community better. How else could you recommend for a visitor to see the (…) museum if you’ve never been or it’s been 10 years?
Conversely, if you are already active in your community, this can sound like nothing more than a gimmick (ads are run on TV for staycations where I live, and all I can think is ‘are those my tax dollars paying for this?’). I love my city – New Orleans, I’m out quite a bit visiting these places. I wish people could enjoy where they live, be it rural or urban, and not have to make a special event to appreciate their community – but that’s not always the case.
I think our ad schemes are different. As another poster mentioned, it can be more expensive to visit a site cross country in my homeland, than it can be for me to get a flight to Costa Rica. Hence, even though you have vacation time, doesn’t mean you have the money to go anywhere requiring food/board/transport, so make the most of it at home!
As a returned traveler who’s finally found a long-term home, I completely agree with you on the idea of traveling close to home to find the nearby adventures. Especially in California – there are a huge number of day trips to the mountains, desert, and beach. I don’t think though that stay cations should be the one vacation Americans take once a year. My pov (at least for Americans) is to use local travel for weekends and then use those precious few vacation days to go somewhere big and do something totally different, even if the inclination is just to stay home and relax. Thanks for this article!
Hi Murissa, it’s crazy that is so expensive to travel so close to home, they should really do something about that! It’s great you’ve had a chance to do some other trips on Nth America though! : )
Hi Jo, that’s an interesting angle and you’re right – a starvation can be as simple as seeing a museum in your own city. It’s a shame to hear that seeing your own country can be more expensive than going abroad – it’s not so much the case in the UK, but definitely Australia where I grew up. Hopefully as the economy strengthens this won’t be such an issue!
Thanks for your comment! : )
Hi Kristin, I completely agree – staycations are great for weekends and shot breaks but heading abroad once a year is definitely needed too! Thanks for stopping by!