A French industry executive once posed this question during a symposium I attended in conjunction with a boat show. She wondered if Americans’ lack of leisure time was a big stumbling block to boating in the United States.
Americans work, on average, considerably more hours than other industrialized nations. And, while workers in most industrialized nations enjoy four- to six-weeks of paid vacation a year, American workers generally have to work at a company for years to earn that much time off. Even then, many American employees are hard-pressed to take more than a week or so at a time.
Weekends fly by, punctuated by chores, the kids’ ball games or dance lessons, and occasional work brought home from the office.
And, boating competes with a host of other activities for the few hours of leisure time Americans can eke out. How can the industry move boating to the top of the list?
JoAnn W. Goddard
Associate Editor
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