Happy Vacationers Accentuate the Negative

My trip was great -- I didn't gain a pound. I had a terrific time: didn't get sick once. It was so relaxing…not a single traffic jam.

According to a study by Virginia Tech marketing professor Joe Sirgy, it's not the positives that make a vacation great. It's the negatives. The taxi drivers that didn't take you all over the city before actually driving to your destination. The ferocious hangovers that coulda', shoulda' made you miserable -- but didn't. The over-eating that didn't leave you five pounds heavier.

Sirgy surveyed 260 tourists, and discovered that the greatest satisfaction is found in "an absence of negative emotions related to health and safety.” His research, he says, suggests that holiday travel that “reduces the possibility of negative emotions arising from health and safety issues can significantly contribute to the vacationer’s overall sense of well-being or life satisfaction.”

While Sirgy's findings may put a crimp in some plans for adventure travel to exotic destinations, it suggests that staycations are here to… stay. After all, where can feel safer, save more money, and risk fewer exotic illnesses than right in your own back yard?

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