Study: Average Person’s Enjoyment Of Vacation Drops 36% For Each Additional Family Member Present

COLLEGE PARK, MD—Finding consistent results across all types and durations of vacation, from multi-week cruises to brief weekends spent camping, a report released Monday by the University of Maryland revealed that the average person’s enjoyment of their time away from work or school drops 36 percent for each additional family member present. “We studied more than 3,000 vacationing subjects and found that their overall levels of relaxation and satisfaction dropped by more than a third for every parent, sibling, child, aunt, or uncle accompanying them,” said lead researcher Yvonne Ryan, warning that individuals who spent their vacation with three or more family members effectively neutralized any potential enjoyment they could have expected from such a break. “While 36 percent represents the average amount that a relative reduces one’s enjoyment of a vacation, we found that certain family members have far greater adverse impacts on one’s pleasure, with elderly relatives and most in-laws reducing enjoyment levels by 50 percent or more.” Ryan added, however, that such negative effects could largely be counteracted by a threefold increase in one’s normal alcohol consumption for each additional family member present.