A proper vacation is being able to spend 2-3 months abroad and taking it easy with no specific plans. The author describes a highly optimized itinerary where every meal and every day counts. Sounds like more stress than a vacation.
Americans have more money, but Europeans have more time and stability.
In my opinion though, if you’re affluent enough to go on 25k vacations, why are they not affluent enough to take several months off at a time to actually enjoy a proper time off?
But then there are specialized holidays, where you need people to be with you. One example is my hobby being a diver. Going on a private diving safari needs planning and documents. Depending where you go are the documents, but you still need a boat, a crew and a dive guide and/or trainer.
It's still very enjoyable for me, as I love diving, but it also needs planning.
I can imagine going to a Taylor Swift concert: being able to have reserved tickets at prime seating with backstage meet & greet afterwards would be a different level compared to stuck in parking lot and standing in crowded unreserved area.