According to a recent survey, the British prioritise travel over more life-changing events, including buying a house, getting married or having a baby.
Today is the first ever International Happiness Day, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly, and to mark the event, G Adventures, a Canada-based adventure travel company, has carried out its 2013 Happiness Survey, questioning respondents from the UK and worldwide on the importance of travel to their happiness.
Of the Britons surveyed, 88 percent stated that travel was very important, putting the nation’s onus on travel ahead of the worldwide average of 83 percent. When asked what was most important to their happiness, marriage at 8 percent, buying a house at 7 percent and having a baby at 6 percent, all paled into insignificance when compared to travelling, which earned a massive 74 percent vote from respondents.
However, travelling is not always seen as a social pastime for insular Brits, with 30 percent of them happy to travel alone, compared to a 25 percent average from the rest of the world. Even partners could be excluded from travel plans, with 8 percent of respondents that were in a relationship still preferring to travel alone, while family members only polled 3 percent when compared to other, more favoured travelling companions.
The survey also revealed that travelling is more important to women than men, and that women are also more inclined to ditch their partner and travel with friends. A large majority also opined that more time off from work would make them happier in their occupation than would a pay increase or improved status.
