Who's got the most wanderlust among the current generations? Millennials, according to a Priceline.com survey. They want to travel more than their elders, but don't follow through on dreams of faraway places often enough to satisfy themselves.
Based on input about travel desires and actual trips taken, Priceline.com said 85 percent of millennials harbor regrets about not getting away more often than they do. But for most of them, it's not the beach trip they crave, instead they want event-oriented travel.
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Nearly half said they regret not making plans to attend a significant event in a friend or family member's life, with a third admitting they'd lost a friendship by deciding not to go. Others ranked music festivals and sporting events high on their "wish I'd done that" lists.
Despite their regrets, the survey said that millennials would be most willing to plan a spontaneous, short trip to visit friends and family or to indulge in "me" time or a romantic getaway.
Other survey findings included:
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Travel is uplifting: Nearly 60 percent of Americans feel travel would improve their mood more than exercising or shopping.
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Lovers at heart: A romantic getaway would be the most emotionally satisfying trip for the majority of survey respondents (36percent), well ahead of a trip with close friends (23 percent) or a volunteer or charitable trip (5 percent).
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Short and sweet: Nearly all Americans (98 percent) want to take shorter, frequent spontaneous trips.
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Travel bug is strong: 77 percent of Americans frequently regret when they're not able to travel.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
