The concept of vacation deprivation syndrome (VDS) – ie not getting enough holidays or travel – has existed for many years now, and has been the subject of an annual Expedia survey for the last few years. It’s usually applied to people who work too much and don’t get enough annual leave, especially Americans, but with COVID19 still restricting foreign travel, it’s currently affecting us all.
Because whilst we may have more time on our hands than usual, we can’t really go anywhere, as foreign travel is an impossibility in most parts of the world. But whilst most of us can at least travel around their own countries, and are doing so in large numbers, pity those poor Singaporeans, stuck in their tiny city state without even the option of travelling to another domestic destination. So it’s no wonder that, in the 2020 Expedia Vacation Deprivation study, Singaporeans (along with Italians) were found to be the nation suffering most from VDS, with 71% of those surveyed bemoaning their lack of travel options. Close behind were France and South Korea at 70% and Malaysia with 68%. The feeling was particularly strong with younger travellers, with 85% of 18-34 year olds suffering from particularly itchy feet.
The survey also found that such was the pent up demand that 67% of Singaporeans were planning to allocate more in 2021 to their travel budget than in previous years, with a few reservations: 33% will only book fully refundable trips, 21% will only be booking at the last minute, and 20% want to go to quiet, socially distanced destinations.
So with travellers desperate to escape and start exploring again, how can your company exploit the symptoms of VDS?
- Make people dream. Provide drool-worthy travel content in the form of images, videos, stories and travel packages
- Focus on the last two quarters of 2021 which is when people will realistically be able – and willing – to travel overseas
- Push unique experiences and luxury travel to entice those with larger budgets
- Offer clearly defined cancellation and refund policies, along with trip insurance
- Offer great early bird deals to get people booking now, but also don’t forget those last-minute travellers
- Promote domestic destinations – get people travelling now!
- Promote quiet, remote destinations and private accommodation to enable travellers to avoid crowds
…and of course, use the right technology to build compelling travel itineraries from a worldwide range of literally millions of different travel products including accommodation, flights, tours/activities, transportation and more – which is where eRoam comes in. We specialise in helping travel companies offer better products and better service using our affordable, cutting edge and easy-to-implement technology. Contact us now for a demo and a free trial to see how we can help you turn VDS into $$$!