The freedom to roam around, just getting away from home, visiting a breathtaking place and spending time with loved ones all top the list of travel moments Brits have missed most during this past year
- Culture Trip unveils the travel memories Brits have missed most while travel has been restricted
- Over £8,200 is the value Brits attribute to their most cherished travel memory –
more than an actual holiday would cost
- More than a third of Brits right now browse travel inspiration during zoom work meetings
- Dr Jennifer Wild, Author and Associate Professor in Experimental Psychology & Consultant Clinical Psychologist at The University of Oxford said
“studies show that even planning holidays has an uplifting effect… boosting our spirits”
London, 8 April 2021 – The freedom to go wherever they want, whenever they want is the travel moment Brits have missed most while travel has been restricted. This is closely followed by just getting away from home where we have spent so much time over these last 12 months.
This has today been revealed by a new representative survey* by Culture Trip – the travel website and app for booking hand-picked places to stay and experiences – in anticipation of the world opening up again to highlight the travel moments we’ve missed and we’re close to experiencing again.
Also high on the list are visiting a breathtaking place, spending time with loved ones and the excitement of being in a new place for the first time. Not having to think about work, that first jump in the pool and ordering everything at breakfast at the hotel are also holiday moments Brits have missed.
With Brits missing so many little travel moments that create big memories, it is no surprise how precious they are for them. When pushed on exactly how much a cherished travel moment is worth, Brits attribute a value of almost £8,250 on average – which is much more than an actual holiday would cost. Five percent even say such a fond travel memory is worth over £50,000.
The Culture Trip survey also found how daydreaming about travelling – whether that’s travel memories or future travel plans – can make you feel good. It lifts their mood find more than a quarter (27%), it makes them realise just how much they need a holiday right now (25%), it gets them excited about future travel and places they want to visit (21%), and it relieves stress (17%).
Brits now spend an average of 26 minutes a week daydreaming about travel, with almost one in ten spending over one hour fantasising about holidays. And knowing that somewhere wonderful is waiting, another 22 minutes a week they spend browsing travel inspiration on the internet. Over a third (36%) even admit to spending time during their working hours and zoom work meetings browsing travel inspiration (which might explain your colleague’s smile during that boring online meeting).
When imagining travel restrictions are lifted and they can finally go on their dream holiday, bad weather is the thing that would annoy Brits most (say 44%). This is closely followed by worries about too many Covid restrictions (38%) and concern that other travellers might not behave respectfully towards the destination they visit (34%). Receiving calls and emails from their boss is also on the list of things that could spoil their long awaited break (13%).
The Culture Trip travel moments list: top 17 travel moments Brits have missed most in the last 12 months
1. Being able to go wherever I want, whenever I want
2. Just getting away from home where we have spent so much time these last 12 months
3. Visiting a breathtaking site / attraction / place
4. Spending time with your loved ones
5. The excitement of being in a new place for the first time
6. Reconnecting with family / friends again after I haven’t seen them for a long time
7. Just listening to the sounds of a different place (e.g. bird song, palm trees, waves etc.)
8. Swimming in the ocean
9. Enjoying a view that’s not the one from your office / home office / desk
10. Not having to think about work
11. Coming home with new memories and great stories to tell
12. That first jump in the pool
13. At the hotel, ordering everything at breakfast
14. Enjoying long meals that last for hours
15. Experiencing a culture you’ve never experienced before
16. Experiencing a new dish you’ve never had before
17. On a road trip, not knowing what’s around the next corner
Dr Jennifer Wild, Author and Associate Professor in Experimental Psychology & Consultant Clinical Psychologist at The University of Oxford said “There’s no doubt that people have missed travelling over the last year, whether that’s for work or pleasure. Travelling offers the opportunity to step out of the daily grind and immerse oneself in a new culture, in nature or to meet new people, all of which are experiences that absorb and stimulate our senses, making it the perfect milieu to let go of worries. Studies show that even planning holidays has an uplifting effect, absorbing our attention and boosting our spirits.”
Darren Carbine, Chief Travel Officer at Culture Trip commented “In anticipation of the world opening up again, at Culture Trip we are celebrating the travel moments we’ve all missed (and never thought we’d miss) – the little moments that are part of a big adventure and we’re all so close to experiencing again. We are ready to inspire people and help them book the travel they have missed.”
Culture Trip launched its Somewhere Wonderful Is Waiting campaign to celebrate the travel moments we all have missed – to inspire people and help them book the travel they have missed (once it’s safe again to do so) with hand-picked places to stay and unmissable things to do: www.culturetrip.com/somewhere-wonderful-is-waiting
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* About the survey
Survey conducted on behalf of Culture Trip by OnePoll with a nationally representative 2,000 UK adults in April 2021
About Culture Trip
Culture Trip is the trusted shortcut to booking travel that’s good, and makes you feel good. In one single platform, customers can discover and book spot-on stays and experiences – because for a decade now, Culture Trip’s global community of travel experts and local insiders have hand-picked the world’s best bits to share travel stories and unbiased recommendations, together with curated collections of places to stay, hotels, things to do and experiences that can be booked online. In 2011, Culture Trip was created to inspire people to go beyond their cultural boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and culture, special, unique and meaningful. Today, Culture Trip is the essential travel companion and has evolved as a travel e-commerce brand with content at its heart. Culture Trip inspires people and enables them to turn this inspiration directly into reality – all in one place.
About Dr Jennifer Wild
Dr Jennifer Wild is a psychological scientist at the University of Oxford with expertise in risk and resilience. She has over 70 publications, including book chapters, and a recently published popular science book, Be Extraordinary: 7 Key Skills to Transform Your Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary. Dr Wild developed SHAPE (www.shaperecovery.com), an evidence-based programme to support frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She regularly appears in the media giving expert advice on how to build resilience to severe stress. The documentary, Vertigo Road Trip, in which she treats five people to overcome anxiety and lead extraordinary lives, aired on BBC One, attracting 2.2 million viewers. Dr Wild has successfully helped hundreds of people to reclaim and transform their lives.
