Holidays are supposed to be the time when we forget about all the stresses and strains of everyday life. Well, according to research carried out by KAYAK, the flight and hotel booking agency; apparently not! Travel stress is all too common!

Research

The research shows that the detail involved in planning a holiday can leave some of us feeling extremely stressed. A staggering 47% found the whole holiday process stressful, whilst 27% found the planning, preparation and booking stage the most stressful. Some of the reasons included:

• 29% – Reaching an agreement with friends on the perfect location
• 51% – The chosen resort not living up to expectations
• 36% – Finding a location that stays within budget
• 17% – Packing enough underwear

Factors

It seems that age, gender and location had an impact on the results; women aged 18-25 living in London found holidays most stressful, where as, men over the age of 66 from the east of England were not phased at all by their impending holiday.

 

A similar survey was carried out by insurance company InsureMyTrip on 400 people to determine the main worries and concerns travellers have when going on holiday.

The main concerns revealed by the survey were as follows:

• 73% – unexpected illness or injury
• 56% – flight delays or cancellations
• 45% – needing a medical evaluation
• 40% – the health of a loved one
• 26% – the weather or natural disasters
• 11% – terrorism or safety threats

It was reassuring to see that terrorism was at the bottom of the list but worrying to see that so many travellers were concerned with health, whether of themselves or of a loved one. Perhaps these findings will encourage a healthier lifestyle in our day to day lives.

With stress and concerns, its perhaps amazing that we go on so many breaks, or perhaps we don’t worry as much as we think we do!