Employees Using Fewer Vacation Days

According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, most Americans will leave an average of 9.2 paid vacation days on the table this year, a 48% increase from 2011’s average of 6.2 unused paid vacation days. The results are from the second annual “American Travel Behavior Survey,” conducted for Hotwire.com.

These numbers are much higher than the average of two unused vacation days reported by CNNMoney in 2011, or the Expedia survey in 2010, which showed the average American earned 18 vacation days but only used 14 of them.

While the travel industry is concerned about the growing trend, they are not as quick to point out the examples of vast vacation time taken in many European countries, as models for success.