Travelzoo: Spontaneous travel is key to happiness

Travelzoo has published the results of its Spring Travel Trends Survey, revealing that travelling spontaneously leads to a better and happier life.

Are your clients looking to book their next trip way ahead of time? You may want to suggest a more spontaneous schedule as research by the travel deals company, Travelzoo, revealed that almost half (49%) of respondents who self-identify as spontaneous leisure travellers strongly perceive themselves as happy, while only a third of non-spontaneous travellers say they feel happy in life.

“Spontaneous travel” refers to unplanned travel in terms of timing and/or location, such as a last-minute weekend getaway or a trip to an unexpected destination.

The survey results indicate that spontaneous leisure travel is on the rise, with 83% of survey respondents reporting that they will consider taking a spur-of-the-moment trip in 2019.

“The real spirit of travel”

Sharry Sun, Travelzoo’s global head of brand, commented: “At Travelzoo, we believe that the real spirit of travel lies in curiosity and the desire to reach outwards and search for authentic experiences.

“Traveling spontaneously allows us to step outside of the worlds we live in every day, and reward ourselves with recharged energy, unexpected encounters and even life-changing self-reflection.”

Positive and confident

Spontaneous travellers are almost twice as often to state that they are happy most of the time and can handle the  unexpected challenges of life, compared to non-spontaneous travellers.

40% more spontaneous travellers said they were content and satisfied with their lives, and feel connected with family, friends and the world. These rates are consistent across all the countries that participated in the survey: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US.

Looking for inspiration

Spontaneous travellers actively seek out information and ideas to be inspired. Almost no spontaneous traveller (less than 4%) would go on a trip without feeling the call of their internal desire, compared to 17% of non-spontaneous travellers.

In addition, 26% of spontaneous travellers try five or more sources of information to get the most unusual, quirky or off-the-beaten-track travel ideas, in contrast to only 13% of non-spontaneous travellers.

About the Spring Travel Trends Survey

The Travelzoo Spring Travel Trends Survey is part of a series conducted four times a year (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). The research was completed by 6,129 consumers aged 18 and over in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US, who responded to an online questionnaire in February 2019.