Belize Is Giving Away a Free Trip for You and Your Co-worker

Everyone needs a vacation, but many Americans feel guilty taking time off work — in fact, it’s one of the top reasons people don’t travel. But Belize wants to change that by giving you a free vacation as well as a second trip for a co-worker to thank them for picking up the slack while you’re off galavanting with Caribbean reef sharks.

The Belize Tourism Board is celebrating paid time off by giving away three five-day trips for two people to paradise. Winners of the Belize Guilt Trip giveaway can then nominate a co-worker to receive the same trip for them and a guest.

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“With so much to see and do in Belize, there is no time to waste feeling guilty about work,” Karen Bevans, the tourism board’s director of tourism, said in a statement. “Too many travelers feel indebted to the colleagues who make their time away from work possible. What better way to enjoy a guilt-free Belizean getaway than to reward those same colleagues with a free trip of their own?”

Many Americans — 55 percent, in fact — have reported not using all of their paid vacation days, according to the U.S. Travel Association. And while American workers are not guaranteed paid time off (unlike many other countries), many still receive two or three weeks of vacation.

But taking a break can be good for your health -- especially one where you’re surrounded by awe-inspiring stalagmite formations while caving or swimming next to loggerhead turtles at the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

To enter for a free trip, stressed workers need to head to belizeguilttrip.com by Feb. 18 and write why they feel guilty taking a vacation and why they deserve a trip. Next, they need to nominate one co-worker who could use a vacation too because when it comes to taking a much-deserved break, why not spread the wealth.