For many self-employed individuals in Spain, the notion of a relaxing summer vacation remains a distant chimera. A recent survey by the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA), the leading organization in the sector, paints a clear picture: one in three self-employed individuals will not take a vacation this summer. Only 44% are certain they will take time off, while 13.1% are still undecided and another 11.4% will postpone their vacation until a later time in the year.
The Reasons for Abstaining: Economic Constraints and Business Management
The challenges associated with running one’s own business, particularly financial ones, are a significant factor in this trend. Approximately 25% of self-employed individuals will not take any vacation throughout the entire year. For those who can afford a break or whose business allows it, the average summer vacation, according to the survey, ranges between two and three weeks.
Within the group of those who do not take time off throughout the year, various scenarios exist. A staggering 23% of all self-employed have not taken a vacation for at least a year, and up to 12% of them have not had a break in at least three years. Additionally, 11.6% of self-employed individuals are simply not accustomed to taking vacations.
The reasons cited for foregoing vacation are diverse, but one factor stands out: half of the self-employed who do not take a break do so because they cannot financially afford it. For 37.5%, it is the management of their business that prevents them from taking time off. Only 8.6% choose not to rest in the summer because it is their busiest period, while 1.7% attribute their lack of vacation to having just started their business. Among the undecided, the majority (63%) are waiting to see how their business develops before deciding whether or not to rest this summer. 20% will decide spontaneously, while 5.5% are waiting to achieve an economic goal, and 2.2% hesitate because they have just started their company.
Regional and Gender-Specific Differences in Vacation Planning
Vacation inclination also varies geographically. In coastal provinces, where economic activity significantly increases in the summer, 58% of self-employed individuals do not plan a summer vacation.
There are also clear differences between genders: according to the ATA survey, 48% of self-employed women take vacation in the summer, compared to only 41% of men.
Urban vs. Rural Areas and Sectoral Discrepancies
Self-employed individuals in urban areas tend to take more vacation than those in rural regions. Only one third of those living in cities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants will take a break this summer, compared to 51.5% of those living in urban areas. This trend could suggest greater economic activity in rural areas or lower incomes elsewhere.
Sectoral differences are also striking. In the tourism sector, only 10.2% of self-employed individuals take time off during the summer months. The hospitality industry generally does not stop for vacation when the heat arrives; less than a quarter of self-employed in this sector travel in the summer. In other sectors, the numbers are higher: 30% in industry, 34% in commerce, 43% in construction, and 45% in transport.
