It may be no surprise that holidays provide the “feel-good factor” we all need to keep us going. But why do we take them? Kuoni has the answer after a survey to reveal the key reasons for travel and the top destinations for the trips.
Whilst the obvious triggers of special birthdays (61%), honeymoons (49%), wedding anniversaries (40%) come top, the Special Occasions Travel survey showed a growing variety of others – such as a treat after a period of hard-work (40%), fulfilling a “Bucket List” (19%) and getting a new relationship off to a flying start (14%).
Although netting smaller percentages, triggers such as recovering from an illness (7%), spending part of an inheritance (4%), babymoons (3%), and divorce (2%) appeared as significant motives to travel, it seems we are now experts at identifying the excuses we need to take a break from life back home, and increasingly recognise holidays’ “feel-good factor”.
The survey’s top 19 reasons to travel and where we go:
- Special Birthday 61% (top five destinations: USA, Italy, Caribbean/Maldives, UK)
- Honeymoon 49% (top five: Maldives, USA, Caribbean, Thailand, Italy/UK)
- Wedding Anniversary 40% (top five: Caribbean, Maldives, USA, Thailand, Mauritius)
- Treat for Working Hard 40% (top five: USA, Caribbean, Maldives, Thailand, Spain)
- Bucket List 19% (top three: USA, Australia, Maldives)
- Girls Break/Hen 16% (top three: Spain, UK, France/USA)
- New Relationship 14% (top three: France, Maldives, Thailand/UK)
- New Job/Gap Between Jobs 11% (top three: USA, New Zealand, Sri Lanka)
- Retirement 8% (top three: USA, South Africa, Thailand)
- Recovery from Illness 7% (most popular: Caribbean)
- Graduation 5% (most popular: USA)
- Work Promotion 5% (most popular: Thailand)
- Redundancy 5% (most popular: Caribbean/Thailand)
- Boys Break/Stag 4% (most popular: USA)
- Inheritance 4% (most popular: USA)
- Pre Children/Babymoon 3% (most popular: Canaries)
- Fitness 2% (most popular: Caribbean)
- Kids Left Home 2% (most popular: Caribbean)
- Divorce 2% (most popular: Thailand)
Other reasons to travel included:
- New Year celebrations and Christmas-time
- Engagements, Renewal of wedding vows, Valentines, Mother’s Day and other birthdays
- Returning home after 6-month temporary accommodation due to flooding!
- After detachment with the military
- Meet with friends and family reunions (if they live overseas)
- Death of both parents
- Being given an eviction notice!
Psychotherapist Christine Webber says: “Travel is an investment for the future as well as the present. Landmark times in our lives stand out in our history – and they define the quality of our relationships and how we think about them. By travelling somewhere memorable to celebrate significant events, we imbue these occasions with a unique and special feel. We turn them into red-letter days. We acknowledge that we made a real effort to elevate them and enshrine them in our memories. And when we revisit them – by leafing through the photo album or playing our old travel videos – we can enjoy again the importance and joy that we felt at the time.”
Derek Jones, Kuoni’s MD, said: “Time away with our loved ones is so precious, to many it could be the true meaning of luxury and for others it’s the stuff family memories are made from. Whatever one’s motives, taking a holiday is a landmark in our busy lives, something to keep us going as we look forward to it, and sustain us as we reminisce over it.”
