Kuoni Travel and Nuffield Health have revealed 84 per cent of British holidaymakers claim holidays are worth more to them in terms of wellbeing than the money they spend on them.
The UK’s largest healthcare charity and Kuoni Travel surveyed 2,845 UK adults between 14 April to 30 June 2012 to find out how a holiday can help to alleviate the effects that everyday life has on the public’s mental and physical wellbeing.
The research showed that taking a break can improve people’s lives in four key ways:
– It enables to break out of a routine
– Offers an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones
– Puts a fresh perspective on people’s lives
– Enables us to relax and recharge our batteries
These benefits explain why almost a third (32 per cent) of Britons say that every pound they spend on a holiday is worth 2-4 times more to them in terms of wellbeing, 21 per cent say it’s worth 5-7 times more, more than a quarter (27 per cent) say that its worth 8-10 times more, and 4 per cent say it’s worth over 11 times more.
Interestingly, of those surveyed, 67 per cent said it took up to four days to stop worrying about work, this breaks down into:
– 44 percent said it took between 1 and 2 days
– 23 per cent said it took between 3 and 4 days
– Younger adults (16-24) were most likely to worry the longest (74 per cent)
Chris Jones, Head of Physiology at Nuffield Health, said: “On a day-to-day basis, our bodies give us subtle physical signals for stress or tiredness that may be caused by our busy modern lives and we all intuitively know that a holiday can help us re-charge our batteries. The fact that two-thirds of people are taking up to four days to switch off maybe an important indicator of how we manage stress from our everyday lives.”
Derek Jones, MD Kuoni, said: “This study highlights the health benefits of a significant 10-day to two week holiday. Kuoni is well known for its expertise in tailor-making trips to long-haul destinations across the globe, and it seems more time away means the better we unwind and recover from the demands of our busy lives.”
This survey is part of a bigger research study the luxury holidays provider and Nuffield Health are carrying out this year called The Holiday Health Experiment. Across August, Kuoni are sending three different couples away on three radically different types of holiday – to Amazonian Peru, to Thailand and to the Maldives. Nuffield Health and psychotherapist, Christine Webber, will be conducing medical tests on the couples before, during and after their time away to see how the holidays may impact on a person’s well-being.
