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Columbia -- The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism will celebrate National Plan for Vacation Day on Tuesday, Jan. 28, to encourage workers and employees to convert their hard-earned vacation time into actual vacations.

Using the hashtag #PlanForVacation, the agency's social media accounts (@Discover_SC on Twitter and Instagram, and @DiscoverSC on Facebook) will post stories, messages and reminders to motivate followers to book their vacations early.

"South Carolina has amazing, affordable destinations in almost every corner of the state, ready to host travelers who want to escape and relax," said SCPRT Director Duane Parrish. "We want people to plan early so they can take advantage of the vacation days they worked so hard for."

According to national studies, more than half of American workers failed to use all their time off in 2018. That's a stockpile of 768 million unused vacation days, of which 236 million were forfeited completely. Planning is the key to using vacation time more wisely, but nearly half of American households lose out on their time off and the benefits it brings.

"The beginning of the year is the time to pull out the calendar and start planning for the entire year. Before you k now it, life happens, and you might find yourself in November with weeks left to use an simply not enough time left in the year to schedule them," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association, the organization rallying the industry around this nationwide event. "National Plan for Vacation Day is the perfect reminder for Americans to plan to use those well-earned days off to explore this great nation."

Using vacation days to travel could also improve the U.S. economy, create American jobs and have a positive impact on health and overall well-being. In fact, if Americans use dall their time off to travel, the U.S. economy could see a boost of $151.5 billion in travel spending and an additional 2 million U.S. jobs. In the Palmetto State, tourism is a $22.6 billion industry that employs one in every 10 South Carolinians.

People can plan their vacations by visiting South Carolina's Official Tourism Website or by using USTA's Vacation Planning Tool.

National Plan for Vacation Day takes place on the last Tuesday in January as a day to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days for the rest of the year at the start of the year.

SCPRT is a member of the U.S. Travel Association and brands South Carolina as an exceptional destination for family and business travel.

For more information, contact Dawn Dawson-House at ddawson@scprt.com or 803-734-1779.

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