Travel more important than marriage and having a baby.

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As the world prepares to recognize the first ever International Day of Happiness on March 20, a day established by the United Nations General Assembly, a new poll reveals how travel factors into happiness worldwide.

A large majority of respondents (83%) of the 2013 G Adventures Happiness Survey said travel is very important to their happiness. In fact, in terms of making people happy travel was deemed more important than marriage and having a baby.

“At G Adventures, Creating Happiness & Community is one of our Core Values. We understand the positive effects of travel and recognize its ability to cultivate happiness,” says Todd Rogerson, Mayor of G Adventures. “As indicated by the survey, it’s clear that travel plays a huge role when it comes to happiness.”

According to the survey, travelling is more important to women than men. While men prefer to travel with their other half, women ranked “friends” as their ideal globetrotting companion. Family members are the least popular people to travel with and a surprising eight per cent of people in a relationship prefer to travel solo.

When asked what aspect of travel makes respondents most happy, “new experiences” topped the list, followed by “culture” and “meeting new people”. Australia and New Zealand are the most desired destinations and nearly half (46%) of those surveyed enjoy engaging in active experiences when travelling.

Furthermore, more than half (57%) prefer to celebrate a happy occasion such as a birthday or anniversary somewhere abroad or overseas. When not travelling, 60 per cent of respondents find inspiration researching travel online.

Wanderlust & Work
Half of respondents confessed to daydreaming about travel for an hour daily at work, while a fifth spend the entire day fantasizing about being abroad, outside the confines of the cubicle. Plus, nearly two-thirds (61%) admitted that more time off to travel would make them happier at work and is more important than an increased salary or having their own office. When it comes to bonuses, half would opt for a free trip, rather than cash or additional days off.

For more information please visit: http://gadvnt.rs/WHfKUL.

About the Survey
The online survey was conducted through Fluid Surveys between February 3 and 14, 2013. Results are based on a sample of 2,321 respondents from G Adventures’ external global network.