Holidays | Destination: home

Although pandemic travel restrictions have been lifted, the idea of ​​spending the holidays at home remains attractive for many Quebecers. The goal: to relax, finally.

Florence Dancause
The Press

“I voluntarily decided not to travel. The two years of the pandemic were too difficult for me,” says Svarta Boucher. With two teenagers who have been greatly affected by the pandemic and 90-hour work weeks in banking, she has given herself a break. “I need to settle down,” she says.

Three weeks of vacation at home are planned. Svarta Boucher doesn’t have a specific schedule, but her list of activities is well stocked: diving into a pile of books, decluttering her condo, catching up on television series, exploring bike paths.

Self-employed Louise Poulin has also decided to stay home for her vacation. Tired of having to pack her “little suitcase” every day and travel several kilometers to present historical events in schools, she devotes her summer to her “cocoon”. She plans to redevelop parts of the house and also treat herself to a few getaways — with a historical twist!

“Before the pandemic, about 40% of people in Quebec took a trip with at least one overnight stay,” explains Isabelle Falardeau, professor in the department of studies in leisure, culture and tourism at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR ).

Dominic Lapointe, professor-researcher in the department of urban and tourism studies at ESG UQAM, agrees. “There are plenty of people who don’t have access to the idea of ​​vacations outside the home. »

Those who stay at home do so for all sorts of reasons. The people surveyed by the Transat Tourism Chair who will not be traveling this year mentioned a budget that is too tight (38%) and uncertainty linked to the health crisis (33%).

“The Holiday Effect”

There is also a “more voluntary phenomenon”, indicates Isabelle Falardeau, such as people who decide not to travel for ethical or environmental considerations – or because the desire is just not there.

“All the reasons are good to stay at home, reminds Sylvie Boucher, psychologist and coach of life. The important thing is that it is a real vacation. You have to empty and also fill up, she recommends.

The psychologist gives us some tips to reproduce the “holiday effect”. First of all, we make a clean break with the work. We notify colleagues and boss that we will not be available. We block work emails, and we put all work computer equipment out of sight if we are teleworking.

We then determine a few periods reserved for doing household chores since the trap of being at home is – precisely – to see all those that have to be done.

All the rest of our time should be reserved for resting and recharging our batteries through our favorite activities or those we want to discover. “Above all, you have to slow down the pace and learn to live in the present moment,” advises Sylvie Boucher.

Not quite sedentary

“Accessibility to a cultural offer in an urban context and to the outdoors in a non-metropolitan region means that — suddenly — we are able to bring the holidays home,” explains Dominic Lapointe.

Svarta Boucher intends to take advantage of the cultural activities offered near her home. A few expeditions to nearby regions are also on the program, including a stay at the spa and a river trip in Glen Sutton.

Louise Poulin plans to go to museums and historic sites all over Quebec. “I recently went to Montebello to see Louis-Joseph Papineau’s mansion,” she says.

” Some people [qui font leurs vacances à la maison] are going to include excursions close to home,” points out Isabelle Falardeau. Excursion zones which are usually around 60-100 km, she says, and which allow you to visit nearby attractions without necessarily staying on site.

Be careful, however, not to plan too many activities, warns psychologist Sylvie Boucher. Two or three activities per week would be ideal, according to her, in order to also have “times to do nothing”.