Chapter 11 – Audio Script

Good morning, everyone. To get started, I want to take a quick survey. Please raise your hand if you feel you are ready for a holiday….  Yes, I thought many people were! I am also ready for a break!  Ok, next question: Raise your hand if you like traveling to different countries. … Aha. Yes, me too. I love visiting new places.

Well, today I want to talk about vacations, but not traveling. I am going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of staycations.  First all: What is a staycation? Well, it’s a vacation, but you STAY at home. Get it? stay – cation – stay at home vacation.

But having a staycation doesn’t mean that you spend all your vacation time in your home. People often take day trips — that is, trips you can take in just one day. For example, if you live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, you could take a day trip to Niagara Falls, Toronto, or Stratford.

Now you know what staycations are, let’s look at some statistics. Staycations became extremely popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic – so in 2018 – approximately 15 percent of people preferred to vacation at home. In other words, not many people preferred staycations. This changed in 2020 when nearby travel became much more popular. According to the website Newswire, only 24 percent of Canadians said they felt comfortable traveling by plane in 2020. However, 70 percent said they felt comfortable traveling by car. Most of these people planned to take short trips near their homes, or staycations! In 2023, many people said they want to travel to different provinces and countries again, but 38% of people still prefer staycations.

So what makes staycations so great? Let’s look at some of the advantages. First, staycations are more affordable. You don’t have to pay for plane tickets, you don’t have to pay for a hotel, and you don’t have to rent a
car. One week of traveling costs me over three thousand dollars, but one week of staycation only costs three hundred dollars.

Next, staycations are more comfortable. I don’t know about you, but I feel most comfortable sleeping in my own home. Hotel beds are too hard, and I don’t like eating all my meals in restaurants. Being at home is comfortable.

Third, staycations are less stressful, especially if you are traveling with children! For me it’s very stressful to keep children happy and entertained on a long car ride or in an airport. But on a staycation, we can choose day trips that are close to home so we don’t have to drive as far. Also, we don’t have to pack. Packing is stressful for me!

Of course, there are some disadvantages, too. First, if I’m staying near home, I can’t experience a new culture or learn a new language. One of the things I love about traveling is trying new foods, meeting new people, and learning about how other cultures think and live. That doesn’t happen during a staycation.

The second disadvantage of a staycation is that it doesn’t feel like a vacation. In other words, sometimes a staycation just feels like normal life. It can be hard to disconnect from work or chores when you stay near home. For example, I still check my e-mail, and I still do the laundry. It doesn’t feel the same as a vacation.

But in my opinion, I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. In other words, I prefer staycations. I can explore interesting places nearby and I can sleep in my own bed each night! It’s perfect for me! Thank you for listening to my talk about the advantages and disadvantages of staycations. I hope you find a good, fun, restful way to spend your vacation time