We all daydream about our vacations, and as we at Lonely Planet know, there is nothing nicer than letting your mind drift off to another part of the world. Even so, we were surprised at how much working time is spent daydreaming about our next trips, according to the findings of one study.
The study on travel booking behaviour was conducted by OnePoll in partnership with Apple Vacations on 2000 Americans. It found that 82% daydream about their next trip, and they spend 200 hours a year on that dream, on average, or 24 full work days. The average American will spend 37 minutes on vacation websites per month, and 48% check them out while eating.
Proving that a dream can sometimes be as far as one gets, 65% admitted to browsing travel websites although they don’t have the money to plan a trip. Three-quarters of those surveyed browse websites for reviews when planning a holiday, and 34% rely on website reviews for every trip. Seven in ten people get their travel recommendations from friends and family, and 79% worry about getting the best deal.
One surprising figure that emerged was that 73% of those surveyed forget to book part of their trip, and an incredible 22% forget to book a key part of their vacation on every trip. Half of those surveyed admitted that planning when to travel is the hardest thing about booking a trip, and 62% who say that finding a flight for any trip is incredibly stressful. Four in ten people say that the difficulty of booking a vacation lies in finding things to do and building an itinerary, although Lonely Planet can always help travellers out there.
Check out our Best in Travel 2020 for inspiration.
