Malaysians are among the most likely to become more open-minded and tolerant of others and learn something new as a result of a holiday.

THE Psychology of Travel is the latest instalment of TripBarometer that TripAdvisor has come out with.

The results of this survey reveal that “enhancing perspective” is the primary motivation for vacation choices for the majority (71%) of global travellers, followed by “liberation” (62%), while Malaysian travellers equally crave “enhancing perspective” and “liberation”, both at 66%.

“Order” and “harmony” are the least important motivations for global travellers, with only 21% falling into these categories globally.

This is the fourth edition of the biannual study, conducted on behalf of TripAdvisor by independent research firm Ipsos. TripBarometer is the world’s largest traveller and accommodation survey highlighting country, regional and global travel trends according to more than 53,000 travellers and hoteliers around the world, with 540 travellers from Malaysia.

The TripBarometer: Psychology of Travel report examines the motivations behind travellers’ vacation choices, traveller emotions at the various stages of a vacation and the post-trip impact of travel.

Motivations to travel

Ipsos’ extensive research in various sectors has led to an understanding of the different psychological needs and motivations that impact human behaviour across different settings and scenarios. In order to delve into the psychology of travel for this study, traveller respondents were asked to select two statements that best represented how they wanted to feel from a vacation.

While “enhancing perspective” is the main driver for travellers around the world, there are variations in motivations when looking at different nationalities: while travellers from South Africa, Britain and Italy lean towards “harmony”, Brazilians, Thais and Chinese seek out “liberation’” whilst Russians are more keen on getting “luxury” from their vacations.

Hotelier respondents were also asked to select statements that best matched how they wanted their guests to feel as a result of their stay. Sixty-eight percent of Asian hoteliers want to provide their guests with a sense of “harmony”.

While this is not in line with motivation for travellers on holiday, half of Asian hotelier respondents are also keen to provide an experience that offers a sense of “liberation” (52%) and “immersion” (49%). There is clearly an opportunity for hoteliers to stand out from the competition by offering more experiences that provide guests with a chance to broaden their horizons while they are in the destination, matching the “enhance perspective” motivation most favoured by travellers.

“Travellers from Barcelona to Beijing crave unique and interesting experiences. Whether they get a few days or a few weeks of vacation, they want more from their trips than time spent lounging by the pool,” said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer, TripAdvisor. “The TripBarometer Psychology of Travel report shows us that travellers want their vacation to count.” she added.

The journey: How travellers feel at various stages of a trip

The survey examined which emotions travellers were most likely to feel at the five stages of travel: booking, arrival, during the stay, departure and back at home. Excitement peaks during lead-up and arrival, with travellers feeling most fulfilled upon returning home from a vacation.

Fifty four percent of global travellers report feeling “excited” at the booking stage. Malaysians are less enthused at this stage with only 39% of them reporting that sentiment. For both global and Malaysian travellers, excitement is the predominant emotion on arrival at their destination (Global: 55%; Malaysia: 46%), with 34% of global travellers and 36% of Malaysians also reporting feeling “energised” at this stage.

During the stay, the majority of global and Malaysian travellers (45%) feel “relaxed”, but this is also the time when travellers begin to feel more “liberated” (Global: 26%; Malaysia: 18%) and “closer to their loved ones” (Global: 24%; Malaysia 27%). Travellers feel “fulfilled” both on departure from their vacation (Global: 47%; Malaysia: 43%) and once they are back home (Global: 45%; Malaysia: 39%), with 36% of global respondents and 30% of Malaysians also saying they feel “relaxed” following a vacation.

Hoteliers have an opportunity to hook travellers when they are excited, and to contribute to their guests feeling more knowledgeable throughout their stay. As part of the study, hoteliers were asked what actions they took throughout the traveller journey to relate to their guests.

Forty-three percent of Asian hoteliers say their main priority is to ensure a smooth and efficient process at booking and 35% are keen to minimise any potential stress leading up to arrival. However, there is more they could be doing to leverage travellers’ feelings of excitement right from the start by providing local information about the destination and beginning to build a relationship with the guest before they even arrive.

The post-travel impact: how vacation experiences affect everyday life

Travellers often bring home souvenirs from their vacations, but what else? For this wave of TripBarometer, respondents were asked to think back on their travels and reveal what they had been prompted to do as a result of a trip.

Nearly seven out of ten travellers (Global: 66%; Malaysia: 68%) report that returning home from a trip has prompted them to plan another vacation. Over a third (38%) globally and 34% of Malaysian travellers also introduce new foods into their diets.

According to the study, South-East Asian travellers are more likely than travellers from other parts of the world to become more open-minded and tolerant of others, and learn something new as a result of a holiday. In fact, Malaysian travellers are ranked among the nationalities most likely to become more open minded and tolerant of others (60%) and learn something new (48%) as a result of a holiday. Interestingly, one in eight Malaysians (12%) report having started a family as a result of a holiday, compared to only four percent globally.

Looking at Malaysian travellers by life stage groups, millennials are relatively less likely to introduced foods or recipes they tried while traveling into their everyday diets (29%) upon returning home from vacation. Travellers with children are relatively more likely to prioritise more time on relationships with friends and family (36%) as a result of a trip.

Over half of hoteliers (Global: 57%; Asia: 50%) encourage their guests to write online reviews following their stay, and to recommend the hotel to family and friends.

Those hoteliers who see a guest return rate of between 76-100% are more likely to prioritise “beginning to build a lasting relationship” (34%) during the lead up to a guests stay.

“The results of the TripBarometer highlight that hoteliers can stand out from the competition by providing unique and enriching experiences. And while it’s no surprise that travellers tend to be excited when they book and prepare for a trip, hoteliers are missing an opportunity to capitalise on that excitement and begin building a lasting relationship with their guests. Only a minority of hotels are currently making this a priority, but those who do also tend to receive more repeat guests,” said Marc Charron, president, TripAdvisor for Business.

The TripBarometer study, by TripAdvisor, is based upon an online survey conducted from July 17 to Aug 5, conducted by Ipsos. A total of 53,804 interviews were completed in 32 markets, spanning seven regions. The sample is made up of 39,721 consumers who are TripAdvisor website users and Ipsos online panelists who have researched their travel plans online in the last year, and 14,083 representatives from accommodations on TripAdvisor database, making it the world’s largest combined accommodation and traveller survey.