There's a subgenre of tourism. The tacky name, invented by marketers to create a buzz, or to create demand for some sort of niche travel that no one really considered a niche before.
There was the mancation. Then the procreation vacation. And now: the staycation.
“Staycations” are just “trips” which locals take to resorts in their own area, thereby avoiding travel, or even much of a change of scenery. “In-town vacation” was what this used to be called, no? But “staycation” just sucks as a name.
Sure, it's friendlier on the environment to skip the carbon-guzzling travel side of the equation, and not everyone is game for a vacation that involves staying on a hotel’s compound. But few people live close enough to a real destination to make this worth their while.
Will this trend take off? Maybe, but I hope the name doesn't.
Update: “Staycation” is already in the Urban Dictionary! Since 2006, no less! Crikey.