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Five simple swaps to help busy Britons make more time for holidays

Britons spend over 22 days per year on social media but only 16 days holidaying.

A recent survey from Monarch has found that busy Britons are looking to take more holidays this year, and their “Flights quicker than” campaign aims to help them do just that. Giving up a social media habit or small changes to the daily commute can free up a huge amount of time, and over the course of the year this really adds up.

The survey of 2,000 UK adults found out how much time Brits are spending on everyday tasks and calculated how far you could travel in the same amount of time. Brits spend over 22 days per year on social media but only 16 days holidaying, so Monarch have found 5 simple swaps to help busy Brits make more time for holidays.

5 swaps to fit more holidays into your life

  • Swap social media scrolling for romantic beach strolling in Ovda

The average Briton spends 1hour 29mins per day on social media – that adds up to 10hours 23mins per week. In that time alone you could fly to Ovda (Eilat) in Israel and fly back again! Cutting this habit in half would give you 11 extra days per year for holidays.

  • Swap watching TV for watching sunsets in Ibiza

The average Brit spends 2hours 33mins per day watching TV – in that time you could fly to Ibiza, Balearic Islands. In a year that adds up to over 38 days watching TV. Just halving the amount of time spent watching TV could get you 19 extra days’ holiday per year.

  • Swap washing and cleaning for sightseeing and exploring in Malaga

The average Brit spends 2hours 59mins every week on cleaning and household chores – in that time you could have flown out to Malaga, Spain. That’s over 6 days per year spent cleaning. By creating a routine to cut the time spent cleaning in half would save you over 3 full days per year which could be used for extra holidays.

  • Swap the weekly commute for flights to Naples (and back!)

The average Brit spends 1hour 13mins per day commuting, that’s the same as 6hours 5mins per week – in that time you could fly to Naples, Italy and back again! That’s over 12 days per year. Working from home just 2 days per week could save you almost 5 extra days’ holiday per year.

  • Swap British pubs for Barcelona’s bars

The average Brit spends 2hour 20 minutes per week socialising and drinking in pubs and bars. That’s around 5 days per year. In the same amount of time you spend drinking and socialising in bars in one week, you could have flown to Barcelona to sip Sangria by the sea.

To help Britons figure out how they can best save time and make more room for holidays themselves, the airline have created their “Flights quicker than” tool which, allows users to enter how much time they spend on certain daily habits and see where they could have flown to quicker.

The survey revealed that a typical Brit takes two holidays per year, lasting on average eight days each. That’s 384 hours holidaying in one year. However, the average person claims that they “need” an extra eight days per year.

Despite many Britons feeling like they don’t get enough holiday, the results also showed that 1 in 7 people didn’t use their full holiday allowance last year and shockingly one in ten people didn’t use 10 or more days that they were entitled to! So where does all the time go?

Top 5 things Britons spend time on in a year

Activity

Average time spent on this per year (days)

Watching TV/film

38 days

On social media

23 days

Cooking

18 days

Making small talk

16 days

Taking pictures/selfies

16 days

Rob Foulkes, Head of Digital & Marketing at Monarch said, “Holidays are the highlight of many people’s year, so it comes as no surprise that so many people want more of them. It’s interesting to see that so many people aren’t making the most of the time they have available, either by not using their full holiday allowance at work or spending more time than necessary on everyday activities.

Things like cooking and commuting can be difficult to save time on but, cutting down the hours spent watching TV and scrolling social media can really free up time to do more things that we enjoy… like go on holiday! That’s why we’ve created the ‘Flights Quicker Than’ tool, to help people see where they could make a positive change.”

Key findings:

  • The average weekly commute takes more time than flying to Naples and back
  • The average Briton spends over 22 days per year on social media but only 16 days holidaying
  • Almost two thirds of Britons (63%) wish they could take more holidays, the average person wants an extra 8 days per year
  • Yet, 1 in 7 Britons didn’t use up their full holiday allowance from work last year, losing on average, 5 days’ holiday
  • Shockingly, 1 in 10 people didn’t use 10 or more days that they were entitled to take
  • Half (49%) of Britons who didn’t use their full holiday allowance claimed it was because “they didn’t have time”
Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | Website | + Posts

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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