Tired? Take a ‘daycation’ not a two-week break

‘Daycation’ is undoubtedly the buzz-word of the moment. Another catchy media term that we won’t be able to forget. Rather like manscara, sexting and unfriending. What, you’ve forgotten them already?

Cynicism aside (I am spending valuable time writing about it after all), the story behind the catchphrase actually rings rather true to my life. It goes something like this: fewer people are taking traditional two-week breaks and more people are taking lots of single-day holidays, aptly dubbed ‘daycations’.

New holiday patterns

The research, by The National Trust, suggests that the number of Brits taking a fortnight off has decreased by almost 20% in five years, with more than half not planning a summer two-week break.

Spookily, I had just submitted my holiday request for two weeks’ leave in June when this story came to my attention. I’m planning to go camping in France – my first long holiday abroad in about four years – years which have mostly been made up of a week’s holiday accompanied by lots of days here and there.

According to the study my holiday pattern isn’t unusual. More than a quarter of workers say they plan to take at least 10 single-day holidays this year, while a third say they will take between five and 10.

What’s the appeal of shorter breaks?

So what’s the appeal here? Almost half said the cost of a fortnight’s holiday was stopping them from taking longer breaks, while one in 12 felt they could not afford to switch off from their jobs for so long. What’s more shocking is that 21% of Welsh workers didn’t even want to switch off.

For me, it’s more about spreading my time off effectively. Taking just one long holiday is great, but it leaves the rest of the year rather sparse. Lots of long weekends mean you can spend time with different friends and family, experience a variety of areas and check out lots of festivals and events.

Do you fit the ‘daycation’ mould too, or are you sticking to a traditional two-week break?