More than half of British workers (52%) have left over holiday allowance and 22 million workers end up losing days off, new research by British Airways has found.
The main reasons for people not taking their full quota of annual leave was due to being busy at work (49%), followed by 16% feeling guilty for using all their holiday allowance each year.
This could explain why an more than two thirds (69%) of people did not take a two-week holiday last year.
A third of those polled said they were unable to get the time off work to take a longer break.
More than one in three (35%) have not been on a two-week holiday for more than two years as they struggle to maintain a work-life balance.
The most popular trips people are longing for are a European beach break (45%), followed by a European city break (40%), a long-haul flight to the Caribbean (25%) and 15% would like to go on a US road trip, according to the study.
However, more than three quarters (81%) return to the same holiday destination more than once, visiting their favourite location eight times on average.
As many as 91% of over-55s are most likely to re-visit a favourite place year after year than venture further afield.
More than a third (38%) believe that two-week holidays are frowned on or discouraged at their workplace.
And 62% said that on their return they felt as if they had not managed to properly “switch-off”.
More than half of holidaymakers (56%) admitted to spending a lot of their holiday thinking about work and wider commitments and a fifth admitted they came back home dreading their return to work.
Holidaymakers in the UK took the least number of breaks abroad in 2017, compared to international counterparts from countries ranging from France, Germany and Italy to Japan and India.
With 41% of Britons spending on average five to nine days on holiday abroad, after only one week on holiday more than half (52%) felt they had not had a long enough break, with 55% wishing they had spent more time at their destination during their time on holiday.
BA Holidays head of marketing and distribution, Matt Armstrong, said: “Going on a summer holiday is always exciting. We all enjoy watching the countdown to our holiday date creep closer, yet it seems we’re reluctant to venture somewhere new.
“Many of us return to the same destination, and maybe that is down to lack of time to plan our holidays, as work commitments take over.
“If you keep revisiting the same destination year after year it feels like your trip goes quicker, as new holiday experiences make you feel like you have been away from your usual routine for longer.”