Relaxation Nation

Our lives are filled with many stresses – our client needs a report by EOD; our car needs a new battery; our kids need to get to soccer practice; and our back needs some pain relief (almost all the time).

So when we take a vacation, most of the time we just want to sit back, relax and enjoy ourselves. Going away (pun intended), our top priorities in planning a leisure trip are: fun and relaxation, both of which are nearly 5 times more important considerations than anything else like adventure, knowledge, or culture.

Even romance (whether you are married or single) comes up a whopping fifth or sixth as a priority when planning a vacation.

When we travel, we would prefer to:

• Do activities we are comfortable with (57%), rather than take risks
• Stick with the people we came with (57%), rather than socialize with others
• Lay low and relax (56%), rather than be active

And in case you need more proof that we are (for the most part) not a thrill-seeking country, in order of preference, the most desirable destinations (rated as the percentage who said “ideal” minus the percentage who said “no way”) of the following are:

Clearly fun and relaxation is way at the top of this list, while adventure appears much lower down. Following stereotype, men and younger adults are slightly more likely to seek out adventure, but not by much, as the emphasis even for these groups remains on fun and relaxation. And, relaxation really takes off as the #1 consideration, once adults hit age 40 or more.

How would you rate the destinations above? Where did you go on your last vacation – and why? Have you ever gone anywhere that you later regretted, or conversely, wished you traveled somewhere but stopped yourself for one reason or another?