Got Wanderlust? Travel Makes Folks Happier, Study Shows

It might be tough to imagine jetting off to far-flung destinations right now, but new research shows that people who love to travel are happier than homebodies.

Chun-Chu (Bamboo) Chen, an assistant professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University Vancouver, surveyed 500 people to find out why some travel more than others and if travel experiences affect happiness and well-being.

He found that people who regularly travel at least 75 miles away from home were about 7% happier than those who rarely or don’t travel, the findings showed.

“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,” Chen said in a university news release. “It really illustrates the importance of being able to get out of your routine and experience new things.”

The report was published recently in the journal Tourism Analysis.

“This research [also] shows the more people talk about and plan vacations, the more likely they are to take them,” Chen said. “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.”

More information

For more on well-being, head to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: Washington State University Vancouver, news release, Jan. 4, 2021