Key findings from the Tourism Analysis report

• According to a study published in Tourism Analysis, people who travel frequently have greater life satisfaction.
• Experts say the joy of a great vacation can be attributed to time off from work, new experiences and spending time with loved ones.
• People who can't afford to travel can achieve similar levels of life satisfaction through other, less expensive activities.

People who have contracted the travel virus will tell you that exploring the world leads to bliss. Now scientific evidence has emerged to support these anecdotes.

A new study published in the journal Tourism Analysis found that frequent travelers have higher life satisfaction than those who don't go on vacation very often. The results come from a study of 500 people.

This research presents some insight into the role that travel can play in some people's emotional well-being. But since going on vacation can be expensive, does that mean people who can't afford to travel may have lower life satisfaction?

Not necessarily, experts say. Here's what to know about the link between travel and happiness, as well as some ways to reap the psychological benefits of a vacation if you're on a tight budget or stuck at home.

Research findings on travel and happiness

The study was conducted at Washington State University, along with researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Texas A&M University.

For the study, researchers surveyed 500 people who were a representative sample of Taiwan's population over a two-week period in 2013. Participants were asked 17 questions about how important travel is to them, how much attention they give to plans for future travel, how often they talk about trips they would like to take, how often they travel and their overall life satisfaction.

The results showed that frequent travel had a positive impact on life satisfaction. However, the authors of the study noted that the amount of travel taken per year explained only a small percentage of higher life satisfaction. They add that life satisfaction related to travel has more to do with "frequency of satisfying travel" than how often someone takes a vacation.

This may mean that a stressful business trip to a beautiful place where you're stuck in a conference center all day may not increase life satisfaction. Even if it was technically a trip, because it doesn't meet the criteria for a satisfying travel experience.

The study also found that people who said travel was very important to them were more likely to take a trip, often because they absorbed more travel-related information and were more likely to talk about future vacations. This refutes previous tourism research that found that people only read travel information when they are actively planning a vacation.

The more people talked about and planned vacations, the more likely they were to organize and go on them. The authors were able to show a small but noticeable relationship between travel experiences and life satisfaction and quality of life.

It is important to note that the study was conducted in Taiwan in 2013. The results may be different if the same study were conducted on groups from other countries today. Activities you can do to become happy.

Why can travel increase happiness?

Experts say there are many reasons that may explain the link between travel and happiness. Some people may get more life satisfaction from having new and varied experiences. This theory is supported by a study published in the journal Nature in 2020, which found that people who see more changes in the environment, the scenery each day, tend to be happier.

Pleasant events, such as travel, improve our mood and increase our satisfaction with life. For many people, travel is an enjoyable event because of the novelty it offers.

Travel can also improve a person's life satisfaction by allowing them to step away from work and relax from the stresses of everyday life. A 2020 study from the journal Psychology & Health found that people expressed low levels of stress related to things like childcare and finances while on vacation, which can provide emotional relief.

One of the benefits of traveling is that it allows you to arrange some time for personal relaxation from your daily routine, which can lead to lower stress levels. Spending time with your partner or loved ones can also be generally fruitful in improving relationships.

It may also have to do with the sense of awe that many travelers feel when they experience the beauty of the world. In travel, we often experience awe in the face of completely unfamiliar foods, art, or landscapes Awe itself deepens our sense of purpose, of being connected to something greater than ourselves. Travel can energize us as we meet new people, enter new situations, and reconnect with the mystery of life.

Finding joy when you can't travel

Job loss and the economic consequences of a pandemic may make it difficult to travel in the near future, even if travel becomes safe again.

However, this doesn't mean that people who can't travel are doomed to lower life satisfaction.

For people who work from paycheck to paycheck or have no paid time off, there is definitely a disadvantage when it comes to taking time off. However, this does not mean that they have a happiness gap and this is the flaw in this study in my opinion.

Experts say that since travel-related happiness can come from many mechanisms, such as time spent relaxing or experiencing something new, there are alternative ways to reap similar benefits - without having to take long flights and stay in luxury resorts.

If you need the stress-relieving benefits of a vacation when travel is not an option, you can enjoy spending time in nature or hanging out in the woods. Those who want to spend a lot of time with loved ones can try setting aside a day to play board games together, prepare home-cooked meals, and reminisce about happy memories and photos.

The key to reaping the benefits of pleasurable experiences, whether it's taking a vacation or putting together a puzzle with your kids, is to do it with commitment and forethought.

Remember to be mindful of enjoyable experiences as you go along. Going on a trip or engaging in an enjoyable activity does us little good if we are not paying attention. This means that it is important to focus on the enjoyable event while it is happening. Turn off social media, put away your phone and other distractions, and allow yourself to fully immerse yourself in the experience.

Taking a vacation to relieve stress and overall health

What does this mean for you?

While it may seem like people who can't afford a vacation can't benefit from traveling, the truth is that you can achieve these benefits in other ways - which is especially important when many people are still stuck at home during a pandemic.

A virtual tour of a foreign country can satisfy your wanderlust for free. You can also reduce stress by spending time in nature close to home when travel is not an option. If you feel like spending time with loved ones that you might otherwise spend on vacation, consider spending the day playing together at home without the distractions of everyday life.