In Tourism Analysis, a group at Washington State University showed that frequent travelers were more likely to have stronger mental well-being compared to non-travelers.
“This research intends to examine whether frequent travelers are more satisfied with their life as well as why these individuals travel more frequently than others,” the authors of the study wrote in their published article.
About 500 participants from Taiwan were evaluated. They were given a survey to complete on their travel experiences.
The participants who traveled 75 miles away, at the minimum, from home, are likely to report a 7 percent increase in happiness and well-being.
“The study results show that respondents attaching personal importance to tourism are more likely to gather travel-relevant information, resulting in more frequent travels. It is also found that frequent travelers are more satisfied with their life,” wrote the study’s first author Chun-Chu Chen.
“These findings suggest that travel and tourism can be an important life domain affecting how people evaluate their overall quality of life.”
The study was also authored by Sui-Wen Zou and James Petrick.