By Alana Bailey<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who live or work abroad usually travel quite often. Sometimes it is to explore their new home, other times because they live near popular travel destinations that are relatively easy or inexpensive to reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The insurance company Travel Guard recently conducted research into what causes people to not enjoy their holiday trips. People in countries all over the world were approached and strangely enough, those with the worst travel experiences were South Africans. Some 98% indicated that they had had at least one holiday that they regretted. Compare this to, for example, France and Belgium\u2019s 90%. Unfortunately, the findings do not indicate whether the disappointments were during domestic or international trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the findings are purely statistical, such as the fact that the age at which people have the worst travel experiences is in their twenties. This makes sense, as this is usually when people start working and have young children, and must make do with few vacation days and income. A whopping 50% indicated that this is when they were disappointed, compared to 1% of people over 60 and 14% of teenagers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other findings provide some insight that can come in handy when planning another getaway. The three types of vacations that the research participants found most disappointing were family vacations (27%), adventure trips (16%) and city breaks (11%). So, it seems like the ideal option would be to go and seek out nature on your own …<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Factors that were broadly responsible for the participants\u2019 bad experiences were unforeseen bad events such as illness or cancellations (17%), poor planning (14%) and holidaymakers who were so tired or stressed that they were unable to enjoy the holiday (13%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More specifically, problems with accommodation (16%), disagreements with travel companions (13%), as well as bad weather and crowded destinations (both 12%) were responsible for unhappiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People remember bad holiday experiences for a long time \u2013 possibly because there is often a long wait and saving for a holiday, which makes it very traumatic when people don\u2019t enjoy it. To ensure that the most is made of every holiday, the participants and Travel Guard suggest a few simple steps, including that travellers should plan extensively, keep their comfort needs in mind, budget carefully, think even more carefully about travel companions, consider visiting popular destinations off-peak times, allow for enough rest time, build cancellation options into their planning and, of course, take out travel insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From personal experience, I can agree with all the suggestions. If you are overtired or sick when you leave on vacation, you will have a hard time enjoying it, and your travel companions will also not be in the mood for Martyr Martha moaning and groaning, or coughing and wheezing, yet still trying to keep up. Relationships that are strained before you leave will not improve just because you are in a different environment. On the contrary, it may lead to a bigger eruption than what would have happened at home.<\/p>\n\n\n