A regional survey commissioned by Beringer Vineyards, Napa Valley, has revealed that while the majority (94 percent) of Malaysians claim to ‘long’ for their next vacation and over half consider themselves well-travelled (67 percent), four fifths believe that they could have maximised their annual leave if only they were better at travel planning.

49 percent of respondents from Malaysia even admitted that they have gone to a destination they have no interest in, just because someone else was willing to plan it for them.

Here’s how you can stop wasting your leaves. We suggest these 5 planning hacks:

#1 Be first

If getting your annual leave approved is tricky, apply at least 6-9 months ahead of time. You don’t need to finalise your travel plans then, but it’s highly likely that your request will be signed off quickly as it’s unlikely to clash with others and it’s typically too far ahead for work clashes to be predicted. 

#2 Be social

You are statistically more likely to maximise your annual leave if you schedule face-to-face meet ups to plan together with your travel buddies.  Disguise these as regular get-togethers over a cheeky glass of wine, so as not to scare off the non-planners in your group! 

#3 Be single minded

Don’t try to set the date, destination and itinerary at once. This will most likely lead to your group failing at the first stage of planning and paying a higher price if you are fixed on a destination. 

#4 Slow and steady wins the race

Once your date and destination are set, slow down and make time to plan your itinerary together. Research shows that sharing the responsibility of vacation planning is more enjoyable than going solo.  

#5 Public holiday panic

It’s true, the thought of not maximising every public holiday is sinful, but the reality is that no matter how quickly you move, airlines and hotels already have these dates marked too, so you’ll already be paying a premium.  Given using leave is more of an issue in Malaysia than not having enough, consider using a public holiday to get together with your group to plan the best trip ever.