New survey draws connection between happiness and travelling
As the world prepares to recognize the first ever International Day of Happiness on March 20, a day established by the United Nations General Assembly, a new poll reveals how travel factors into happiness worldwide.
A large majority of respondents (83%) of the 2013 G Adventures Happiness Survey said travel is very important to their happiness. In fact, in terms of making people happy travel was deemed more important than marriage and having a baby.
“At G Adventures, Creating Happiness & Community is one of our Core Values. We understand the positive effects of travel and recognize its ability to cultivate happiness,” says Todd Rogerson, Mayor of G Adventures. “As indicated by the survey, it’s clear that travel plays a huge role when it comes to happiness.”
According to the survey, travelling is more important to women than men. While men prefer to travel with their other half, women ranked “friends” as their ideal globetrotting companion. Family members are the least popular people to travel with and a surprising eight per cent of people in a relationship prefer to travel solo.
When asked what aspect of travel makes respondents most happy, “new experiences” topped the list, followed by “culture” and “meeting new people”. Australia and New Zealand are the most desired destinations and nearly half (46%) of those surveyed enjoy engaging in active experiences when travelling.
Furthermore, more than half (57%) prefer to celebrate a happy occasion such as a birthday or anniversary somewhere abroad or overseas. When not travelling, 60 per cent of respondents find inspiration researching travel online.