The New Buzzword is “Nearcation”

In a column that I read recently, the writer indicated how frustrated he was about the expression “staycation” being overused. In fact, he said he was going to scream if he heard the word one more time. You may remember that we wrote an article on staycations back on May 1st (see previous post) as it was just beginning to make its way into common usage. It’s true, now, that you can’t turn on the TV or pick up a paper or see an item on the web without some mention of the staycation being included somewhere.

There’s confusion, however, in the way the staycation has been used. In some cases the word means staying in the same area or state, but to some people it means staying at home and “playing tourist” in your own backyard without overnighting in a hotel. In any case, a new buzzword has come about to better describe what travelers did during their vacation season. That word is the “nearcation”.

According to some statistics and tourism agencies, locals and day-trippers helped save the summer from being as disastrous as it could have been. People still wanted to get out and do something. They didn’t travel as much by air; they drove a few hours by car; and maybe they ate at least one meal as a picnic or in their rooms saving on restaurant costs. If they could possibly do so, they didn’t stay put, but they stayed nearby. They still took a vacation.

Now that we’ve passed Labor Day weekend – where AAA was predicting more people would not be traveling compared to last year – we’ll have a better perspective to assess our summer business. So South Florida, did the nearcation help you out at all? Where did your guests come from this summer? We’d love to hear from you.