Post-holiday feeling fizzles out within week

19 August 2005

AMSTERDAM — More than half of all Dutch holidaymakers lose the relaxed feeling engendered by the vacation within a week of returning home, according to a new survey.

The poll of 500 Dutch people was carried out Interview-NSS on behalf of consultancy ‘&Samhoud’.

It found 75 percent of Dutch holidaymakers return home feeling good about life. This post-vacation euphoria ebbs away quickly on return to the Netherlands. On average everyday concerns kill off the holiday feeling within a week.

The survey also confirmed that people who were physically or mentally exhausted before going on holiday, come home in the same condition.

Only one in 10 of the men who go on holiday in a relaxed state returns home in feeling tired. Women aren’t quite so fortunate: one in five who go on a break in a good state, but return home in tired.

Another message from the survey is that the longer the holiday the better chance of coming home feeling good. Just over 80 percent come home in a relaxed state after four weeks away. The satisfaction rate drops to 74 percent for a 10-day holiday. Sixty-six percent manage to unwind fully during a one-week vacation.

The weather can also influence the restfulness of a holiday. A fifth of those who experience bad weather have a bad holiday. When asked about holidays when the weather was good, only 4 percent of those surveyed did not experience holiday euphoria.

Subject: Dutch news