Four in five Thai travellers have regrets over missed travel opportunities

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Lost in translation

By The Nation

 

 

Younger generations are most regretful about missed travel opportunities, survey reveals.

 

Four in five Thai travellers have regrets over missed travel opportunities

 

However, travel can be transformative and life enhancing for all generations as nearly as 40 per cent of Thai travellers say they found their purpose or passion in life when travelling, 29 per cent have overcome a major fear and 26 per cent learned a new language

Whether it’s wishfully thinking about that long distance vacation you could’ve booked, or that road trip you should’ve taken, Booking.com research reveals that a whopping 81 per cent of Thai travellers have had regrets over missed travel opportunities.

 

The research was conducted across 20,500 global travellers and revealed that among Thai travellers, the biggest missed travel opportunities include not travelling more often (44 per cent), not travelling more when younger (38 per cent), not doing more adventurous travel (38 per cent), not going to more remote destinations (38 per cent), not visiting a destination when I could afford to (37 per cent) and not seeing more of the countries travelled to (35 per cent).

 

However, regrets are a lot higher amongst Generation Z with half of this age group regretting not travelling more often and about 34 per cent regrets not being more adventurous. It’s also no surprise that 42 per cent of the selfie generation (18 to 24 year olds) found it upsetting when they failed to capture more photos to commemorate their trip. This figure stood at only 34 per cent for overall travellers.

 

Despite their sense of regret, chiefly stemming from perceived barriers around language, expense, directions and safety in the unknown, 83 per cent of all Thai travellers have overcome their worries about travelling to a new destination and have travelled there.

 

Baby Boomers are the most willing to face their travel anxieties head on with the majority saying they have. This has positive impacts as it encouraged 52 per cent to travel more widely in the future, 49 per cent gained increased confidence in life and 25 per cent a sense of personal achievement. Travelling deepen existing and create new relationships too, with 31 per cent of Thai travellers becoming closer to their family and 34 per cent making new long-lasting friendships while on vacation.

 

Travelling can also be beneficial both physically and mentally, with 60 per cent saying it had a positive effect on their mental health and 25 per cent deciding to improve their physical health.

 

Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of adults who have taken a trip in the last 12 months/plan to take a trip in the next 12 months. In total 20,500 respondents were surveyed (1,000+ from Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, Brazil, India, the USA, the UK, Russia, Indonesia and Colombia and 500+ each from Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Croatia, Taiwan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore and Israel.) Respondents completed an online survey in March 2018.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/thailand/30346046

 

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