Holidays benefit
people’s health and let them recover from the stress of their day-to-day lives.
A recent study has now confirmed what many travellers regularly experience. Dr.
Jessica de Bloom, a work and organisational psychologist at the University of
Tampere in Finland, has examined how holidays benefit people’s health and well
being and come to some fascinating conclusions from which the tourism industry
can profit. She presented her findings at a workshop organised by Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Tourismusforschung at this year’s ITB Berlin Convention.
According to the study, holidays not only benefit people’s health but make them
happier as well. These latest research findings on the topic of personal
happiness confirm that people who spend their money on concerts, family trips
or short breaks are happier than those who acquire material objects such as
jewellery, clothing and electronic devices. The reason, according to Dr.
Jessica de Bloom, is that they cannot be compared. “One can compare a designer
suit with an expensive watch, but not one’s diving holidays on the Red Sea and
a colleague’s city break in Barcelona. What is more, experiences do not wear
out over time.”
Switching
off to shut out stress
Taking a break from
everyday routines also benefits one’s health. Scientists and doctors conducting
the Framingham Heart Study found that people who do not go on holiday for
longer periods are at greater risk of becoming ill or even dying earlier than
those who regularly go on breaks. Frequent breaks rather than extended holidays
are crucial to maintaining good health. Every type of holiday examined by the
study, whether a short break or a three-week hiking trip, produced evidence of
comparative benefits to people’s health and wellbeing. Dr. Jessica de Bloom
compares this with the effects of sleep: “One cannot postpone one’s sleep or
relaxation requirements. One long summer holiday cannot compensate for a whole
year of hard work and overtime.“ In order to remain healthy the important thing
is to relax on a regular basis, she added.
Freedom
to make one’s own choices on holiday helps one to relax
Whether or not a holiday
is relaxing and remembered as such depends on a variety of factors. According
to de Bloom’s study, 17 per cent of people feel worse when they are on holiday
than before they went. Among the reasons are negative events such as travel
stress or a sudden illness. Her study also confirms that, crucially, this is
influenced less by the type of holiday activities people undertake than by them
having the freedom to make their own choices. Activities should satisfy
people’s needs and it is the holidaymakers who should be able to choose them.
In other words, being able to make one’s own choices when on holiday is the key
to a perfect break. In fact, activities play an even greater role as they
influence people’s perception of how long they were on holiday. Time simply
flies for those who undertake a lot of holiday activities. Afterwards, they
remember having had a long holiday, in contrast to those who spend their time
in the hotel or on the beach. The last day on holiday can well decide how
people remember their trip: “Packing suitcases and other unappealing activities
are best dealt with a day before leaving to make sure the last day on holiday
can be enjoyed to the full“, advises de Bloom.
Reducing
stress factors and inspiring happiness
The findings of this
study on holidays and relaxation could be of practical use to the tourism
industry. According to de Bloom, travel agency sales of holiday tours could
improve a customer’s holiday experience, providing travel agents are aware of
the positive effects and how to reduce stress. What is more, tourism products
need to be further improved to ensure tourists enjoy maximum satisfaction when
on holiday.
Dr. Martin Buck,
Director of Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin: “These latest research
findings give us a deeper insight into the needs of today’s travellers. They
offer valuable inspiration for creating innovative tourism products and give
companies the decisive edge in a hotly contested travel market.“
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