If you’re daydreaming about this year’s big getaway and wondering where to head for some serious R&R, then a new study may have offered the perfect solution…
It turns out that one type of travel may be particularly beneficial for our wellbeing – and the effects can apparently last for six months.
According to new research by scientists at the University of China, going on a cruise offers a whole host of benefits.
While most travel is usually good for you, cruises seem to be particularly beneficial thanks to their multi-faceted nature, which includes visiting multiple destinations and being able to experience lots of new activities.
The researchers, whose work has been published in the International Journal of Tourism Research, concluded this after giving over 300 tourists a psychological questionnaire on their return from a cruise.
They also gave the same quiz to a further 300 travellers who had gone on a cruise six months previously.
The questions were designed to test the travellers’ own perceived sense of wellbeing, including life satisfaction and emotional state of mind.
And, as well as boosting short-term happiness, cruise travel seems to have a longer-term effect on wellbeing, thanks to the ‘thinking experience’ you gain from visiting lots of new places in one go.
Lead author Jiaying Lyu of Zhejiang told the Mail Online: “Travel is a meaningful activity by which individuals gain something important and valuable in life.”
“It affirms self worth and price, facilitates self growth and self motivation and searchers for inspiration and creation.”
He continued: “The results indicate that cruise holidays offer more value than simply short-term hedonistic experiences and contribute to broader aspects of life satisfaction and positive function.”
“In these cognitive processes, people find positive emotions and improved evaluation of life.”
Sounds good to us.
