Frequent travel makes you happier

The current period is not favorable to travel, but once the health crisis has passed, this new study could well support desires elsewhere. American researchers from the University of Washington suggest that frequent travelers are happier than people who do not travel at all. They presented their results on December 5 in the journal Tourism Analysis.

Important to get out of your routine

Researchers conducted a survey to find out why some people travel more frequently than others and whether or not travel and tourism experiences have a lasting effect on happiness and well-being. The results showed that people who pay more attention to tourist information and frequently discuss their travel plans with friends are more likely to go on regular vacations than those who don’t constantly think about their next trip. Importantly, survey participants who said they regularly traveled at least 120 kilometers from home said they were around 7% happier when asked about their general well-being than those who said they traveled very rarely or not at all.

“While things like work, family life and friends play a larger role in overall reports of well-being, the accumulation of travel experiences appears to have a small but noticeable effect on life satisfaction. self declaredsaid Chun-Chu Chen, assistant professor at the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University and lead author of the study. It really illustrates the importance of being able to break out of your routine and experience new things..”

A new communication tool

Previous studies have looked at the benefits of tourism experiences on stress relief, health, and well-being, but they have tended to look at the effect of a single trip or vacation. This research goes further by looking at the lasting benefits of travel over the course of a year. Study participants were asked about the importance of travel in their lives, how much time they spent researching and planning future vacations, and how many trips they took in a year. They were also asked about their well-being. Of the 500 survey participants, just over half said they made more than four trips a year and only 7% of respondents took no time off.

“Travel agencies, resorts and even airlines could launch social media campaigns, such as creating hashtags about the scientific benefits of vacations, to get people interested in discussing their opinions on tripssuggests Chun-Chu Chen. This research shows that the more people talk about and plan for vacations, the more likely they are to take them. If you are like me and you strive to get out of the everyday and see a new place, this research will hopefully be a good extra motivation to start planning your next vacation..”