Scott mid Staycation - circa 2002According to Wikipedia (the Maori god of knowledge) a Staycation (or stay-cation, or stacation) is a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in current hard economic times in which unemployment levels and gas prices are high.
Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals.
Isn’t this just staying at home for the day? Since when does it deserve its own posting in Wikipedia and be elevated to, “the next big thing”?
I’m throwing this wide open and looking for comments – what do you think, is The Staycation the holiday of the 21st century or just some load of bullocks that the folks at your local swimming pool have dreamed up to get you to finally test out that waterslide.
What do you think?
SK
3 comments:
OK, I'll wade in as devil's advocate - I say long live the staycation!
It makes total sense environmentally, economically, logistically, ethically... and it's just cool to be different.
The environmental side of things is a no-brainer; jet travel is one of the fastest way to get through fossil fuels around while getting from A-B possible - stay home and race your rocket-powered dragster instead, you'll be doing the planet a favour!
Then there’s the economic opportunity cost. Given the choice between spending a months salary flying to New York and staying in a half-star, rat-infested hellhole or drinking pina coladas at a luxury local retreat, it's not surprising to see people going with the latter.
Kiwis are lucky to generally have four week's paid holiday as part of a normal job, so to spend ten percent of that in crammed into a cattle class cabin heading for the other side of the planet is a tough call. Again stay home, and spend those two days doing something more fun.
Alas, the ethics of travel is a bit of a minefield at the best of times, what expands your mind often cheapens someone else’s culture. The tourism industry all to often skews indigenous cultures towards their most presentable, but not necessarily accurate side. You can imagine what being constantly told; "hey do that funny dance again" must do after a couple of decades. Pretty soon societies are collectively lobotomised to just dances and festivals while the boring old methods of farming and education are forgotten.
It's funny how many travellers place huge value on exotic cultures, but would barely lift a finger to find out about their own. I spent 25 years living in Sydney and would frequently bump into travelling Americans and Brits who knew more of 'my' country and culture than me after a two-week trip! Next time you bump into an Australian traveller, why not ask them to throw a few Koori phrases at you? I certainly couldn't.
And if all that doesn't convince you, remember global tourism is big business and a whole lot of people have vested interests in you spending your hard earned following the herd to Bali or the Gold Coast. Why not think for yourself, do something different that'll feed your soul.
If that's collecting bugs in Alaska or diving with sharks in the Bermuda Triangle, go for it. But if you'd really rather just stay home and read a good book in front of the fire don't feel a shamed - Vive la difference!
Long live the staycation!
- Mark
*The opinions expressed in this comment are not necessarily those of the author; he's probably just being argumentative for the sake of it.
Mark - you should know that there are always plenty of reasons for being argumentative!
great points and a very interesting arguement - thanks for the great input!
SK
Well, I have a slightly different take on this matter. Don't you think it's saying something that people have to wait until during their hard-earned four weeks holiday to get round to visiting the local pool, park or festival? I reckon it's pretty sad that people lead such busy lives that they don't manage to fit such simple pleasures into their lives on a regular basis. Get off the merry-go-round people, live life at your own pace and be sure to get a good mix of what life has to offer! While I don't think that a long-haul flight should be the essential feature of a decent holiday, I DO think that people should use a little more imagination and moving beyond your own neighbourhood should be a pre-requisite! After all, exposure to different environments and other walks of life is crucial to understanding your own...
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