Staycation
{{Short description|Vacation taken at one's own home}}
File:Entrance of Best Western Plus Hotel Hong Kong (20190308161746).jpg vacation at a hotel elsewhere in the territory{{cite news |last1=Heung |first1=Sammy |title=Beware of Hong Kong hotels' staycation traps, consumer watchdog warns |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3137398/beware-hong-kong-hotels-staycation-traps-warns-citys |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=South China Morning Post |date=15 June 2021}}]]
A staycation (a portmanteau of "stay" and "vacation") is a recreational break spent at home or within a both-ways day's trip distance of it, requiring no overnight accommodation.{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/staycation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020113659/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/staycation|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2017|publisher=English Oxford Living Dictionaries|title=Definition of Staycation|access-date=22 April 2019}} In the UK, the term has increasingly also come to encompass domestic tourism, or taking a holiday in one's resident country as opposed to traveling abroad.{{cite news |title=Rallying call for UK 'staycation' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7952280.stm |access-date=15 August 2020 |publisher=BBC News |date=19 March 2009}}{{cite news |title=UK holidaymakers opt for a 'staycation' in the Britain [sic] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jul/17/holiday-staycationing-uk-travel-seaside-towns |access-date=15 August 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=17 July 2009}}{{Cite web|title=STAYCATION noun definition and synonyms |url=https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/staycation|access-date=2021-03-05|publisher= Macmillan Dictionary macmillandictionary.com}}{{Cite web|title=Staycation definition and meaning |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/staycation|access-date=2021-03-05|publisher=Collins English Dictionary collinsdictionary.com}}
Common activities of a staycation include the use of a home pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals and amusement parks. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.{{cite book|title=The Great American Staycation: How to Make a Vacation at Home Fun for the Whole Family|first=Matt|last=Wixon|date=18 March 2009|publisher=Adams Media|isbn=9781605506562}}
Staycations achieved popularity in the U.S. during the Great Recession of the late 2000s.{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23580960|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307074616/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23580960|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 7, 2013|title=Get away on vacation — at home|publisher=NBC News|date=12 March 2008|access-date=2 August 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://englishcountryhouse.co.uk/staycation/|title=The Ultimate Staycation Guide|access-date=25 September 2018}} In 2020, they became common because of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|last=Farr|first=Christina|title=When will we start traveling again? Here's what experts are saying|publisher=CNBC|date=5 May 2020|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/05/when-will-travel-resume-after-coronavirus.html|access-date=18 June 2020}}
Etymology
The word staycation is a portmanteau of stay (meaning stay-at-home) and vacation.{{cite web|url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/staycation.asp|title=staycation|publisher=Word Spy|access-date=2 August 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/04/staycation.html|title=Buzzword: Staycation|publisher=Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog|access-date=2 August 2016}} The term daycation is also sometimes used. Merriam-Webster cites the earliest use in the 18 July 1944 Cincinnati Enquirer. {{Cite news|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/staycation-date-meaning|title=The Secret History of 'Staycation'|access-date=2024-06-08}} The term was used by Canadian comedian Brent Butt in the television show Corner Gas, in the episode "Mail Fraud", which first aired 24 October 2005. The word became widely used in the United States during 2008, when gas prices reached record highs, leading many people to cut back on expenses including travel.{{cite news| url=https://money.cnn.com/2008/05/07/news/economy/gas_prices_hearing/ | publisher=CNN | title=Congress takes on gasoline prices | date=2008-05-07 | access-date=2010-05-24 | first=David | last=Goldman}} The term was added to the 2009 version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-words-dictionary-idUSTRE5690LE20090710|title=Locavores, staycations get official in dictionary|date=10 July 2009|access-date=2 August 2016|newspaper=Reuters}} Lake Superior State University added the word to its 2009 List of Banished Words. The citation noted that vacation is not synonymous with travel, and thus a separate term is not necessary to describe a vacation during which one stays at home.[https://www.lssu.edu/banished-words-list/banished-word-list-archive/ "Lake Superior State University 2009 List of Banished Words" 1 January 2009]
Benefits
Staycations are likely to be less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There may be no lodging costs and travel expenses may be minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24859538|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305115041/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24859538/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 5, 2016|title=Avoiding high gas prices with a 'staycation'|website=NBC News|date=29 May 2008|access-date=2 August 2016}}
According to the American Automobile Association, "the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals" and "Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $8,000."
Staycations are likely to avoid some of the stress associated with travel, such as jet lag, packing, long drives, or waits at airports.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/06/12/balance.staycation/ | publisher=CNN | title=Staycations: Alternative to pricey, stressful travel | date=2008-06-12 | access-date=2010-05-24}}
Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.
Risks
Staycationers may spend money they had not planned as retailers and other advertisers offer "deals" to encourage staycationers to spend money.{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2008-05-24-staycations_N.htm | publisher=USA Today | title=Retailers promote 'staycation' sales | date=2008-05-23 | access-date=2010-05-24}} Staycationers can also finish a stay-at-home vacation feeling unsatisfied if they allow themselves to fall into their daily monotony and include household projects, errands, and other tasks in their vacation at home or near home.
See also
References
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{{Tourism}}
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