Celebrate National Plan for Vacation Day by Using All Your Vacation Time

Key Takeaways

• Many U.S. workers leave vacation time unused each year, and early planning may help reverse the trend.
• Setting aside time at the start of the year may support healthier work–life balance and more fulfilling time off.
• Travel protection may help travelers prepare for unexpected events that could disrupt planned trips.

Did you know that more than half of all working Americans do not use all of their allotted vacation time? Collectively, 662 million vacation days are unused each year. Moreover, a majority are “too busy” and skip planning a vacation altogether.

Project Time Off, a national awareness campaign, aims to change this. They created the annual National Plan for Vacation Day, and hundreds of organizations participate each year by encouraging a healthy attitude around taking time off from work for vacation time—including setting time aside at the beginning of the year to plan for vacation. They continuing this movement to encourage Americans to plan their time off in advance — it happens each year at the end of January. Consider it a New Year's resolution to take your time off this year!

Get vacation insurance for your next trip

Resources to help plan a trip:
• Travel Tips for All Types of Love Languages: How to Plan and Where to Go
• The 14 Best Places to Travel in 2021
• Random Vacation Generator: Get Inspiration for Your Next Trip

Benefits of Planning for Vacation Time

Most Americans realize it’s important to take time off from work for our overall well-being, but don’t take time off for a variety of reasons. For one, 1 in 5 Americans report “vacation guilt” from their employers.

But vacation days are yours to use, and missing out on vacation time simply because of poor planning can contribute to unintentional burnout. Whether you have your own business or work for someone else, taking time to properly plan out your vacation time can alleviate anxiety about taking time off from work. And an important step to ensuring you maximize your vacation time is to actually carve out time to mindfully plan a vacation.

The good news is that studies show that if you plan for vacation at the beginning of the year, you’re more likely to use your vacation days for longer trips, which can attribute to greater levels of happiness. So, where do you start?

Also read: How Travel Makes You Better at Work and Tips for Recharging on Vacation

What to Consider When You Plan a Vacation

Whether you’re planning a trip for yourself, you and your partner, friends or family, this guide offers actionable steps to take when planning your vacation time: 7 Steps to Choose the Best Vacation.

Also read: 6 Tips to Plan a Trip

Need More Trip Planning Inspiration?

There is no shortage of travel destination inspiration online, but we’ve made it easy to explore potential vacation spots by providing popular destination recommendations and international travel tips. You may also want to explore new travel ideas, like volunteer tourism or a family reunion cruise. We even have a random vacation generator!

Plan a Vacation with a Travel Protection Plan

An important part of trip planning includes considering whether you should buy a travel protection plan for your trip. Using your vacation time should help reduce your stress, and having the right amount of coverage allows you to anticipate your trip with more peace of mind.

One of the most common reasons people consider a travel protection plan is the worry that they may have to cancel their trip and lose the prepaid non-refundable amounts that they’ve already put forward. A Generali Global Assistance travel protection plan may help if you need to cancel due to a covered event, provided all plan conditions are met.

Planning vacation time proactively may lead to more intentional rest and better‑structured travel experiences. Setting time aside early in the year helps ensure vacation days do not go unused and may offer opportunities for longer, more meaningful trips. Considering travel protection during the planning process may also support travelers as they prepare for the unexpected.

Learn more about our travel protection plans and find the one that’s right for you.