Naycation: The New Non-Vacation

Since the 1950's, when the internet highway system and the post World War II boom made travel easy for most Americans, summer vacations have been popular. Generations of American families have loaded up the car and headed off down the highway for pleasure time and fun. Theme parks, historical sites, major cities, and popular vacation destinations like Branson, Missouri and Gulf Shores, Alabama have flourished during those wonderful years of the family vacation. Even movies like "Vacation" starring Chevy Chase celebrated this all-American family pastime.

But as the economy began to lose ground last summer, a new form of vacation emerged called the "staycation". In a staycation, families stayed home, sometimes camping out in the backyard and seeing fun sites on a day trip rathe than a full-blown vacation basis. Record fuel prices added to the popularity of the staycation but in 2009, with a recession well underway, the staycation is yielding to the naycation.

A "naycation" means no vacation and it's gaining popularity. When so many families are impacted by wage or hour cuts, layoffs, pink slips, and home foreclosures, the money that once existed to fund those family vacations is gone. Instead, those dollars are putting food on the table, keeping the mortgage current, paying bills, and buying shoes for the kids.

Rising travel costs play a role in the development of the naycation. In the past few years, hotel costs have soared along with the price of a restaurant meal. Even fast food prices have soared; the only exception comes in the form of the value or dollar menu many chains are promoting to draw business. The admission to most theme parks, attractions, musuems, theaters, and other fun venues has also risen. In family friendly Branson, Missouri, families are realizing that for a family of five, it takes more than a $100 to see most shows, visit most attractions, or do anything fun. That is in addition to paying for a hotel room, meals out, travel costs including gasoline, and more. If one event costs upward of $100, families are limited as to what they can do - so they are doing nothing instead.

Even the travel industry is holding its collective breath to see how 2009 plays out. Some travel loving consumers are skipping the 2009 vacations to save up their money to fund a trip next year, in 2010 - or so they hope.

So, with people pinching pennies and buying budget, the naycation has a broad appeal.

What do families do on a naycation? They stay home, hang out, and relax. Renting movies, enjoying family fun with a cheap backyard swimming pool (the kind bought cheap at discount stores), going to the park, sleeping late, sitting on the porch, cooking out on the grill, taking a walk around the neighborhood, having friends over to dinner, watching movies at home, or even going to the library can all be key components of a naycation.

The money saved can buy a lot of inexpensive fun at home and more importantly, can pay for important things that are needed at home. If nothing else, catching up on the bills and keeping the mortgage current beats running up new credit card bills and coming home from vacation broke!

2009 is the year of the naycation! Be trendy, save money, and stay at home!! It can be fun!