Travel and Happiness

It is nearly the middle of Jan 2023. Looking back I can say that in terms of my travels I am quite happy the way 2022 has gone after being stuck at home throughout 2020 and doing only domestic travels in 2021. In 2022 I managed to visit quite a few countries. I wrote a travel story last month highlighting just one sight from each country I visited in 2022. As I sat down to think which place I should write about in my first travel story of 2023, I thought why not start the year with my current state of mind – anticipation of future travels.

One of the best aspects of travelling for me is looking forward to upcoming holidays which have been planned earlier or is in the process of planning for the future. It is a combination of experiencing a new place, its people, food, culture and everything else around it. This overall feeling brings greater joy as I am looking forward to something exciting and also doing what I really love is a source of real happiness for me. A study¹ on Dutch adults is 2010 found that vacationers generally displayed greater pre-trip happiness. 

Like many people around the world who love travelling and have already started travelling this year or planning for their travels, I am also looking at various options both short and long hauls, rail journeys, historical sights, archeological sites, foodie places. I am more of the discovery holiday type person, but I do enjoy short, easy treks and walks during my holidays. 

Along with the anticipation also comes a bit of stress, thinking about the what-if scenarios and how I can be prepared for any such instances. Though nothing in this world is certain and can always go smooth, most of my travels thankfully have been trouble free from start to finish so far.

Certain unexpected but unavoidable things that I have experienced are extremely bad weather in Iceland where I was stuck in the hotel for the entire day, torrential downpour and windy weather while on a ferry in the English Channel, arriving minutes before a flight due to horrid traffic in Lima and so on. But it is during these moments I have realised that some things are beyond our control and it is best to be calm and go with the flow. Luckily the lions and elephants during my Kenya safari trip were gentle. 

Then there is of course the impact of mass tourism in many places and most well known places in the world have now become over crowded. It is something to think about when we travel and I have found that travelling during off season is quite nice as most places are less crowded and the travel in general is also less expensive. Another way is I try to help the community where I am travelling is by purchasing directly from local shops. Most tour guides are very helpful to suggest such places. That way the money goes directly to the people which can be helpful for sustenance of local crafts and craftsmen. It is all about striking the right balance.

Travelling to someplace new² or places where we have been before are considered essential for good health and psychological wellbeing as I have read in many articles and I can truly vouch for it. It makes me relax, reduce the stress of daily life, forget mundane routine activities, raises my energy levels and creates a calming effect. 

And focussing on the good things about anticipation of a future event or travel has now even been proven to create happiness by psychologists. Whether you believe these or not is another question, but I definitely feel the joy when I am looking forward to something exciting. 

Travel is happy event in anyone’s life. There are 4 key stages to enjoy any happy event:

1. Looking forward to it happening – Anticipation
2. Enjoying the event as it happens – Savouring 
3. Sharing the wonderful experiences with friends and family – Expression
4. Reminiscing on the wonderful times – Reflection

If you read the above points again, I am sure you’ll agree with them. Personally I have gone through these stages before (Anticipation), during (Savouring), after (Expression) and long after (Reflection) my travels. 

Travel also boosts creativity. Think of writers and painters who spent time away from home and created masterpieces through their words or brushes. Prof Adam Galinsky of Columbia Business School has done various studies  on the connection³ between creativity and international travel. 

In a paper⁴ published by Psychology professors Elizabeth Dunn, Daniel Gilbert and Timothy Wilson who are experts in the study of Happiness, it is mentioned that Mitchell et al (1997) found that people viewed the vacations ranging from a trip to Europe to a bicycle trip through California in a more positive light before the experience than during the experience, suggesting that anticipation may sometimes provide more pleasure than consumption simply because it is unsullied by reality. Also mentioned in the same paper is that people who devote time to anticipating enjoyable experiences report being happier in general (Bryant, 2003). 

It goes on to state that anticipation is a source of “free” happiness. So why not savour on this free happiness and start planning some travels and experiences for this year and the years to come. Happy planning and travelling everyone.

References used above:

1. Study on Dutch Adults
2. The Mental Benefits of Vacationing Somewhere New 
3. Creativity and International Travel
4. Anticipation of future travels

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