Time for a Holiday?

Holidays are widely viewed as a special time, devoted to personal development and recreation. As tourism consumption becomes more widespread in developed countries, however, holidays are becoming subsumed into everyday life. The extent to which people are able to devote time to holidays is strongly influenced by economic, social and cultural structures. An international comparison of holiday time entitlement and consumption indicates that holidays are accepted as a social right in the `holiday time surplus' nations of Europe, but are not so firmly grounded in the liberal `holiday time deficit' societies such as the USA and Japan.