5 Awesome Reasons You Should Trade Your Vacation for Micro-Cations

Just back from vacation and feeling like your next break is miles away? We’ve a solution: micro-cations.  What’s not to love about these downsized breaks to destinations closer to you? Beloved of millennials, they function like a breath of fresh air, reinvigorating your spirit and letting you reduce your carbon footprint and notch up a longer list of travel experiences without eating into your vacation days.

1. A reduced carbon footprint

With the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day on the horizon, it’s not just Meghan and Harry who are being urged to think about their carbon footprint as frequent travelers. More people are open to domestic trips or at least to vacationing nearer home. This is hardly surprising given the heightened awareness of climate change. More people also feel more comfortable opting for a holiday choice that’s more sustainable.  According to Philippe Brown of custom travel experience company Brown & Hudson, it’s become less trendy to jump on a long-haul flight. People who once journeyed to exotic destinations three of more times a year, are reining in their travel in favor of places nearer home.

Shorter vacations are about more than saving money. “This time, it’s about experienced travelers looking for ways to manage their impact on the world,” believes Edward Piegza. He’s the president and founder of Classic Journeys, a company focusing on travel experiences. “As travelers turn their attention to places closer to home, they realize there is no jet lag, there’s no ocean between them, and it’s easy to fit a domestic trip into an otherwise crowded schedule,” he says.

2. The joy of taking a vacation nearer home

While not staycations, vacations in which people remain in their neighborhoods, micro-cations still celebrate things local. This is partly practical. When your vacation experience needs to fit into a weekend, there is little time for dealing with jet lag or adjusting to a new time zone.
The average person is now more sensitive to the cultural shift of the past few years favoring local experiences, and it’s not surprising that this attitude is changing how people want to travel, as well.
An appreciation of destinations nearer home can also be a response to the recent focus on ‘overtourism’ in which overcrowding and the threat to historical and natural landmarks as well as local populations has encouraged holidaying in lower-key hubs.
Micro-tourism embraces local economies and supports communities instead. This is about discovering the elements that make a place unique, which may have nothing to do with popular tourist hotspots.

3. No more vacation-shaming!

For some people, mini-trips can be an antidote to ‘vacation shaming’ that is a reality in some high-pressure workplaces where employees sense a backlash when they request time off. They may also be keen to prevent their absence from triggering stress in colleagues left behind. If you feel you just can’t take time out to unwind, or that longer vacations will see you glued to work updates via your mobile, shorter trips are a great solution to burnout as you still come back re-energized.

4. Millennials are setting a great example

Studies show that it’s millennials that are leading the trend for downsized vacations lasing less than a week. For instance, this year’s Allianz Vacation Confidence Index discovered that close to 75 percent of millennials took at least one “micro-cation” with just over 25 percent taking three of them in the same year-long period. Older employees seem to be following suit. This survey revealed that 57 percent of Americans didn’t take a vacation lasting longer than four nights in 2019.

The 2020 travel trend report from Preferred Hotels as reported on by Business Insider, found that millennials are likely leaning on this trend for two reasons: They can more easily fit micro-breaks into their work-focused lifestyles, and they love experiencing a greater number of vacations to assorted locales by taking multiple short breaks rather than a single long one.

This generation is also skilled at building a mini break around a single event or place.  This diary date may be a concert, a wedding or just a well-reviewed small-town restaurant that’s become a magnet for foodies, with the whole vacation tacked on to these events.

5. Micro-cations are gentler on your wallet and more in sync with specialized interests

Budget considerations are top of mind for many micro-vacation fans. When the price of a holiday of a lifetime feels like a burden, especially for those with families, a shorter, mini-break or multiple breaks spread out over the year are an affordable alternative, making self-treating more palatable.

In reality, micro-cations are also a doable alternative to zero vacation time for many, which remains a reality for an estimated 25 percent of Americans.

New services have emerged to cater to specialist micro-vacation needs. One Night Away, for instance, is a response to rising demand for solo and wellness travel for modern women seeking to put themselves first in trips of four days or less.

2020’s top #Travel #Trends: Microcations get big
“It’s less trendy to jump on a long-haul, 1st-class flight” says Brown+Hudson’s founder.“People who used to go to far-flung destinations +3 times a year are now reining in their travel.” Microcations, are increasingly attractive. pic.twitter.com/my3hDip5oz

— Pablo De Luca ????????️‍????????????????️‍⚧️ (@gmaps360) January 3, 2020