Research from the Netherlands measured the effect of vacations on happiness. It turns out that people get the most happiness from planning and anticipating their vacations.
Except for the most relaxing of vacations, people aren’t happier when they return from a trip than when they left. Even at the most extreme end of relaxation, the happiness effect wears off after two weeks.
Taking more trips and planning and talking (obsessing?) about them, then, may be the keys to happiness.
I guess that must make travel agents the happiest people on earth! Indeed, perhaps I’m one of the happiest as well.
Now if only OneWorld would upon up some more US-Asia award availability! Now THAT would make my vacation planning a lot happier!
And the other question: does mileage running make us happy? lots of planning, and working out the little details for lots of short trips…. I might argue it does!