According to a new survey by Harris Decima for Expedia.ca, 24 per cent of employed Canadians report not taking all of their vacation days. Despite receiving an average of 18.7 vacation days, this year Canadians will give back an average of 2.03 days of unused vacation time to their employers. This translates into 34 million untaken days in Canada overall and about $6.03 billion in wages handed back to employers.

The survey also revealed that Canadians are feeling even more vacation deprived this year compared to last, with 42 per cent of employed Canadians saying that they are very or somewhat vacation deprived, up from 33 per cent in 2008.

Because of the current economic climate, 43 per cent of Canadians say that they feel it is important to put their money into savings. However, Canadians continue to see the value in vacations with 84 per cent still planning on travelling this year for vacation purposes. And even one-in-five Canadians feel that they need a vacation now more than ever because of the stress from the current economy.

However, the survey also revealed some common barriers to taking a vacation. According to the survey, 37 percent of Canadians work more than 40 hours per week, with 13 per cent saying that their work is their life and are too busy to get away. And taking the term 'guilt trip' almost literally, one-third of employed Canadians say they feel guilty about taking time off work.