Please Go Away

Mark Twain once observed that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” and he didn’t need a survey to reach that conclusion. Now, thanks to the undoubtedly unbiased researchers at Expedia.com who just released the 2009 Vacation Deprivation Study, we know that travel also makes us happier worker bees and allows us to contribute to the rebuilding of the economy. According to Expedia, about a third of employed workers don’t take all their vacation days, but of those who do manage a getaway, 34 percent “reported feeling better about their job and feeling more productive upon returning from vacation.” Making a stunning connection to the national economic malaise, Moa Mahe of HawaiiTours.com responded to the findings, “Anything we can do to boost the economy right now would be wonderful. If actually using the vacation days we earn at work will make employees more productive, then employers should definitely be taking it upon themselves to urge their employees to get out of the office.” As Cambridge’s Crimson Travel used to say, Please Go Away.

Posted by Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe correspondents