As the Covid-19 pandemic brought travel to a standstill, many of us regained our appreciation for the pleasure obtained from being able to visit new places.  It’s perhaps no surprise, therefore, that research from Washington State University reveals that frequent travel can significantly boost our happiness.

The researchers surveyed a number of people to understand why they travel, and indeed why some of us travel more than others, before investigating whether this traveling makes us happy over a prolonged period of time.

The results suggest that people who pay attention to travel-related information and frequently talk about their travel plans with friends are subsequently more likely to actually travel than those who don’t have such thoughts, which is pretty understandable.

Happiness boost

What is perhaps most interesting, however, is that people who regularly travel were also 7% happier than those who rarely travel at all.

“While things like work, family life and friends play a bigger role in overall reports of well-being, the accumulation of travel experiences does appear to have a small yet noticeable effect on self-reported life satisfaction,” the researchers say. “It really illustrates the importance of being able to get out of your routine and experience new things.”

The study builds upon previous work that has examined the various benefits travel brings, from stress relief to health boosts.  These studies have tended to look at each trip in isolation, however, rather than travel more holistically.  The latest study tries to go beyond this and look at the sustained benefits travel can bring.

Sustained impact

Each participant was asked how important travel was in their lives, and the amount of time they spent planning and exploring future trips, and of course, how many trips they usually take per year.  They were also asked about their perceived life satisfaction.  Of the 500 participants, just over half said they go on four or more pleasure trips a year, with just 7% not taking any vacations at all.

With Covid-19 travel restrictions hopefully easing over the remainder of this year, the researchers believe their findings could have important implications for the travel sector.  Indeed, they believe that campaigns highlighting the scientific benefits of travel could help to spark our interest in travel (although I suspect after such sustained abstinence this will not need much sparking).

“This research shows the more people talk about and plan vacations the more likely they are to take them,” the researchers conclude. “If you are like me and chomping at the bit to get out of dodge and see someplace new, this research will hopefully be some additional good motivation to start planning your next vacation.”