Travelers are spending billions of dollars on trips they may not even want to take, according to a new survey from Hotwire and Harris Interactive.
Events that people feel obligated to attend, such as weddings, family reunions and holidays that require travel have to be factored into the budgets of nearly half of American families, according to the survey from the booking website. Over a one-year period, as much as $197 billion was spent on these types of trips, which people feel obligated to take.
"I'm not surprised by how much obligation travel we take as Americans," Clem Bason, the president of Hotwire Group, told ABC. "I do it myself.
"What surprises me is the tradeoffs that folks are making at the expense of their personal trips," he said.
A 2010 poll conducted by Travelocity found that even more people were traveling for obligation vacations, or "oblications," as they called it. Ninety-three percent of poll respondents said they used at least some of their vacation time to travel for obligation rather than personal pleasure.
The most unpopular "oblication" is visiting in-laws, followed by out-of-town weddings. Graduations, reunions and anniversaries followed close behind.
When people take "oblications" they are likely taking fewer trips that they would actually enjoy. The Hotwire survey "suggests that obligation travel gets in the way of the personal vacations they deserve," Bason said. "I just wish more people knew that they don't have to accept that as a truism.
"With a little extra research and flexibility it's possible for folks to travel for both others and themselves without breaking the bank," he said.
Hotwire has suggestions for travelers who have used much of their travel budget on "oblications." They suggest bargain destinations from their list of "Where to Go Now and How" value hotspots like Washington, D.C., Chicago, Vancouver, B.C., the Dominican Republic and Turkey.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
