As a luxury NYC PR firm, we’re always following research by Trafalgar. Insights from their survey on “The Good Life” were surprising and somewhat disconcerting. The overall sentiment revealed rather than travel evoking wanderlust, the wonder is getting lost. Too much posting to Instagram perhaps?
Trafalgar, which Abelow PR knows well as a leader in the travel industry, sought to find what “The Good Life” means to people. They said it’s:
• Ability to unplug, able to really relax; a time without stress or anxiety
• Being with people you love; friends and family
• Being able to have time to remember one’s values and what’s important to you in life
• Being childlike again; being surprised, learning the new and exploring the different
We all know that “The Good Life” is about happiness, wellness rather than having things. Eighty-three percent of respondents said happiness is more important than success; Thank goodness! But this doesn’t preclude luxury travel., and our luxury PR and travel PR clients know this all so well.
And a vast majority agreed being well is more important than being wealthy. The statement “good health is everything. Many felt great experiences is more important than having products; And three quarters agreed doing something new is more important than staying in their comfort zone. But sometimes it is hard to push yourself beyond your bubble
This is where adventure travel plays such a huge role. That is why a whopping 93 percent agreed that “travel has traditionally given them distance from their day-to-day life and granted people the time and space they need to stop, switch off and reflect.”
Trafalgar says the removal from their daily stresses and experiencing other cultures allows people to rediscover what’s important in life. But with security lines at airports, and waiting for flights, most agreed ravel is stressful.
Other turn offs to respondents were the large crowds, which advocates for off-season travel. Over one-third Trafalgar found in the study that “travel has become an overwhelming checklist of things to do,” noting that nearly half admitted to feeling guilty when they haven’t seen all the sites. All the more reason to step off the treadmill and reconnect with “flow.”
Additional stresses from travel include the pressure to post pictures on social media because people feel they often miss the “special moments” by Instagramming their trip.
Good travel experiences, according to the study, are when people:
• Seek out sights others don’t (11 percent are less likely to see the sights everyone else sees and are more likely to think the sights they see live up to expectations)
• Switch off and relax (20 percent say this helps experience “true relaxation”)
• Make a real connection with local culture (19 percent want to get off the beaten path, 17 percent want to do something “truly local,” and 18 percent want to connect with locals)
The study was conducted by a third party and included 1,400 participants globally. Find more information on the survey here and an infographic here. Contact Abelow PR, a leading luxury NYC PR firm to learn more about applying these principles to your business.