As the year-end deadline approaches, many European workers still haven’t decided how to use their remaining annual leave.
A new survey of 20,000 people in 21 European countries by payments firm Mastercard found that nearly half (47%) still need to take between seven and 20 days off.
Most people (40%) said they wanted to use the day to travel to a new “dream” destination, followed by 10% who said they wanted to attend a live show and 9% who said they wanted to enjoy outdoor activities or Christmas markets.
So what’s holding them back? According to the survey, the most common reason (23%) is financial, with people needing more time to save money or budget for their trip.
Serbia had the highest percentage of such responses (40%), followed by Bulgaria (33%), Romania (32%), Croatia (27%) and Ireland (27%).
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Dutch, German, Swiss, Czech and Cypriot nationals appear to have the least financial impact when taking their remaining holidays.
On the contrary, some people, like the Dutch, are just waiting to get the perfect bargain before booking (14%). The same applies to the British, Portuguese, French and especially Croats (15%).
At the same time, 12% of consumers say they have not yet booked a Christmas experience specifically because they are busy with work and family commitments. This perhaps explains why Gen
British and Dutch people least likely to run away at Christmas
Overall, a significant number of Europeans remain optimistic, with more than two-thirds (67%) believing they can achieve their final bucket list goal by the end of the year, researchers said.
Just under a third (30%) say they still want to do it, but aren’t sure they can go through with it.
Expectations are not high in the UK. Just 34% of people in the UK want to enjoy another leisure experience by 2026, the lowest of any country surveyed, followed by the Netherlands (41%), Belgium (46%), Ireland (49%) and France (51%).
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Europeans are increasingly recognizing the value of so-called experiences, with research showing that 81% believe that the money spent on an experience is always worth it.
The researchers say some consumers are “deliberately adjusting their budgets and making conscious trade-offs” to accommodate their outings.
In that regard, clothing is usually the first stop, with 40% of consumers cutting back on clothing purchases for the holidays.
Eating out (39%) and indulgences (32%) have also been affected, while 32% have given up on tech gadgets and 25% have put off upgrading their home décor to budget for vacations and experiences.
