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"I'm tired as hell and I can't take it anymore. I need a vacation."

Whether those words are uttered, or simply thought, they pretty much sum up

the feelings of hard-working Americans, whether they're single, a couple or

married with kids.

""The pace of work in contemporary life has gotten to the point where most

people would declare it frenetic," according to Peter Yesawich, chairman and

CEO of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, a PR/marketing/ad agency, and a

developer of the 16-year-old National Travel Monitor. Yesawich offered an

advance peek at the 2007 survey, which is based on a sampling of 1,800

travelers in January and February, at a meeting of travel editors in Los

Angeles in April.

Singles and couples normally can vacation at almost any time. For families,

summer is the time, especially for those with school-age children. Family

travel, not surprisingly, is on the rise.

"Family travel [and that includes grandparents] this year will continue to

grow faster than all other forms of leisure travel," Yesawich said in a

follow-up phone interview. But in six of 10 households, both Mom and Dad work

full time. This means they are trying to juggle all of the other commitments

in the family's schedule at the same time, Yesawich said. "Booking a vacation

becomes a Herculean challenge for them. And that translates into a growing

sense of parental guilt -- that we don't spend enough time with our kids."

Although summer is prime holiday time and vacation days are in short

supply, 57 percent of parents surveyed said they have no qualms about taking

their kids out of school if they can't travel between Memorial Day and Labor

Day.

Other trends noted in the 2007 National Travel Monitor, which was

released in May by Orlando-based YPB&R and Yankelovich Partners, include:

• Length of vacations. In many minds -- mine included -- a typical vacation

is a week or two. In actuality, according to Yesawich, only 23 percent of

Americans take what's called an "extended vacation" of five-plus days. Another

23 percent take weekday vacations of four days or less, and 52 percent take

weekend vacations of less than four days including a Saturday stay. Yesawich

said people taking longer vacations are over 55 and either retired or

semi-retired.

"Time poverty -- the sense of compression -- is real for family households

in America," Yesawich said. "It's no wonder the most popular form of vacation

is a weekend trip." And that, he said, "is particularly true for working

families."

According to a World Tourism Organization chart used by Yesawich, Americans

average 13 vacation days a year, while Italy's average is 42 days, France's

37, Germany's 35, Britain's 28, Canada's 26 and Japan's 25.

• Dream vacations. When asked where they wanted to go in the next two years,

68 percent of respondents chose Hawaii's neighbor islands (Maui, Kauai,

Molokai, Lanai and the Big Island) and 67 percent chose the national parks.

Other high-scoring destinations included Honolulu with 63 percent; Florida

Keys, 51 percent; San Diego, San Francisco and Orlando, tied at 43 percent:

Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, 42 percent, and Colorado mountain resorts and New

York City, 41 percent.

Yesawich said travelers yearn to commune with nature, which explains

choices such as Hawaii and the national parks, and to be near water, thus San

Diego and the Florida Keys. He said 44 percent of people dream of taking a

cruise, but only 6 percent of adult travelers do.

• Getting there. When vacation time rolls around, 78 percent of Americans

use the family car for at least one getaway. For other trips, flying is the

choice of 48 percent. Rental cars, cruise ships, bus and rail transportation

also come into play, but for far fewer people.

High gas prices might lead some people to drive shorter distances, but

"they are still going to take their vacations,"Yesawich said. Instead, "they

might trade down the quality of accommodations or budget more conservatively

for food, beverages and entertainment."

When it comes to choosing an airline, 33 percent of travelers opt for a

low-fare carrier, 23 percent the major airlines and 44 percent have no

preference. The number of people who fly to their destinations is increasing

primarily because of attractive fares offered by low-cost carriers, Yesawich

said.

• Trip planning. When travelers get the itch to vacation, a whopping 66

percent use the Internet to do their planning, including their search for

airfares and hotels. Another 23 percent rely on the Internet and a travel

agent for trip planning, while 5 percent use only a travel agent and 6 percent

use neither a travel agent nor the Internet, but rely on recommendations of

family and friends.

Yesawich observed that almost six of 10 leisure travelers now make

reservations online, 6 percent more than last year. A third of the travelers

who use the Internet "tell us they would not make a reservation online with a

credit card." Their concern, he said, is identity theft.

While the 2007 Travel Monitor focuses mainly on trends, the Travel Industry

Association, a trade group, and American Express released an online study in

early April on what 2,500 leisure travelers wanted from their vacations.

The ideal vacation, according to this sampling, consists of rest,

relaxation and spending time with significant others. Respondents said they

would like to travel more by plane and ship, and would like to double the

length of their average trip.

An easy travel experience, fun, adventure and local flavor were also high

on their list.

Barriers to an ideal vacation, the study found, were budget constraints,

family and work responsibilities.

The TIA study said 62 percent of Americans generally vacation with spouses

or significant others. Cities are the most popular destinations at 39 percent,

followed by small towns and rural areas at 26 percent and ocean beaches at 23

percent. The most popular activities? Sightseeing and shopping, tied at 51

percent.

According to the TIA, 124 million Americans took a vacation in the last

year, amounting to 55 percent of the adult population. The typical traveler

took three trips a year, spending $1,500 per trip, and traveled 1,200 miles

from home.

After all, reminded Yesawich: Americans consider a vacation to be a

birthright.

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