Travelers struggle with post-vacation blues

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Travelers struggle with post-vacation blues

Paula Rogo

Reuters US Online Report Oddly Enough

Sep 16, 2011 12:12 EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Post-vacation blues loom large as 34 percent of Americans who took a summer holiday say they are struggling with melancholy after they return home, according to a new survey.

Travel website TripAdvisor, which polled 1,400 Americans, said for 64 percent the blues descend even before the holiday is over.

Day five of a one-week trip is the most anxiety-inducing and for four percent of travelers worrying begins from the first day of the trip.

“Being greeted by hundreds, if not thousands, of work e-mails upon their return from vacation looms large for many Americans and they avoid that by checking in, fake-cation style, while they’re away,” said Josey Miller, a travel expert with the website.

Thirty four percent of people said most of the reluctance to return home stems from the idea of returning to work. Nineteen percent said they feel an immediate strain from the first day back and 43 percent feel it within the first week.

Eighty-four percent said their stress levels returned to pre-vacation highs soon after returning.

“How can you feel refreshed post-vacation if you never really allowed yourself to fully enter a carefree, blissful state of mind?” Miller added.

Twelve percent of people admitted calling in sick within the first month of returning from a vacation. Eight percent considered finding a new job and four percent were regularly late for work.

The No. 1 method to stop the post-vacation blues is to start planning another holiday, according to the poll.

“While many Americans struggle to maintain the feel-good factor upon returning to work and a daily routine after a terrific summer vacation, the process of planning another getaway helps 73 percent of travelers remain upbeat,” said Karen Drake, TripAdvisor’s senior director of communications.

Viewing pictures or a video of the trip helped 52 percent of people and 41 percent said creating a photo album helped them beat the blues.

(Reporting by Paula Rogo; Edited by Patricia Reaney)

Source: Reuters US Online Report Oddly Enough

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