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German Institute for Tourism Research

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Vacation Travel, Health, and Happiness
Logo of the FH Westküste University of Applied Sciences
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Vacation Travel, Health, and Happiness

Vacation Travel, Health, and Happiness

Effects of traveling
Own funds project
18.12.2024
Laufend

Project duration

  • Duration of Project Phase I: January 2024 through December 2024 (analysis and categorization of the current state of research and identification of research gaps; publication of the results in the Working Paper Series of the German Institute for Tourism Research.)
  • Duration of Project Phase II: September 2024 through November 2024 (Representative primary data collection (pilot study) on the personal effects of the German population’s most recent major vacation (n=2000))
  • Duration of Project Phase III: September 2024 to September 2025 (Long-term study of the relationship between annual vacation travel and life satisfaction among the German population using a secondary data analysis of data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)).
  • Duration of Project Phase IV: since May 2025 (primary data collection—a representative survey of the German-speaking resident population on the personal effects of vacation travel; expansion of the questions from the pilot study to examine the effects of vacation-related factors)

Project description

The traditional measurement of success in tourism, which is based primarily on economic indicators, is becoming increasingly inadequate for capturing the diverse personal and societal impacts of tourism. Since 2024, the personal effects of vacation travel—that is, the impact of vacation travel on travelers’ relaxation, health, and subjective well-being—have been the focus of a research initiative at the DI Tourismusforschung.

Project goals

The overarching goal of this research focus is to empirically examine the effects of vacation travel on the well-being of the German population in order to expand the traditionally economically oriented measurement of success in tourism to include this social dimension.

Project results

Research to date has demonstrated a wide range of positive effects of vacation travel on relaxation, health, and subjective well-being.

  • Working Paper 2024: “The Best Time of the Year?”: The Effects of Vacation Travel on Travelers’ Rest, Health, and Well-Being
  • Keynote Address at the 2024 German Tourism Day in Hamburg: “How Relevant Do We Want to Be? Tourism as a Pathway to Happiness and Health.” — Findings from the 2024 Pilot Study
  • Presentation at the 2025 AKTF Annual Conference in Freiburg: “More Vacations, More Well-Being? A Long-Term Analysis of the Effects of Vacation Travel Frequency on Life Satisfaction” (publication pending)
  • Presentation at the City DNA Conference 2026 in Helsinki: “How Relevant Do We Want to Be? Tourism as a Pathway to Happiness and Health”
  • Publication 2026: “Subjective Well-Being on Nature and City Vacations—A Comparative Analysis of the DREAMA Mechanisms and a Discussion of the Implications for Regenerative Tourism”

Project participants

Logo of Hamburg Tourismus GmbH

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