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Every year more than half of Americans (54%) fail to use all their time off, creating a stockpile of 662 million unused vacation days, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

Arkansas Tourism is encouraging travelers to take part in National Plan for Vacation Day January 29, a call-to-action for Americans to stop procrastinating and start making plans when it comes to using vacation time. For travel ideas in The Natural State, visit www.arkansas.com.

“Arkansas Tourism is celebrating National Plan for Vacation Day because it’s time for Americans to reclaim their vacation days,” said Jim Dailey, Arkansas Tourism Director.  “By planning, we can all reap the benefits of taking a break while also giving yourself something to look forward to. If you need suggestions about where to travel, Arkansas.com has sample itineraries, trip ideas and other resources to inspire your vacation.”

Research shows that planners have a distinct advantage over non-planners. The State of American Vacation 2017 found that planners use more of their time, take longer vacations, and are happier.

  • 52 percent of planners took all of their vacation time vs. 40 percent of non-planners.
  • 75 percent of planners were more likely to take a full week of vacation time or more at a time. Non-planners take significantly fewer days—zero to three—than planners (42% to 18%).
  • More planners report they are “very” or “extremely” happy with their relationships (83% vs. 70%), health and well-being (57% vs. 48%), company (57% vs. 51%), and job (59% vs. 50%) compared to non-planners.

America’s unused vacation represents a missed economic opportunity. Americans’ 662 million unused vacation days present a $236 billion economic opportunity.

“America’s vacation deprivation shortchanges the time we invest in our personal relationships, undermines our performance at work, and threatens our economic well-being,” said Katie Denis, chief of research and strategy for U.S. Travel’s Project: Time Off. “In 2018, Americans need to plan for their bucket list, instead of the to-do list.”

To help employees get their vacation days on the calendar, Project: Time Off created a vacation planning tool . By simply entering the number of days off earned, users can plot out their trips or vacations for the year, export to their work or personal calendar, and share with their family and co-workers.