Expedia Pleasure Index reveals that consumers link personal happiness to vacations

Expedia.com released the results of an online survey conducted on their behalf by Harris Interactive, which was designed to examine the link between vacations and happiness. The Expedia Pleasure Index found that consumers link their personal happiness to vacations. 86% of Americans pair the two, and those who vacation three or more times per year are more likely to do so than those who travel two or fewer times.

While unsurprising that vacations bring happiness, what is surprising are the institutions that vacations surpass. Americans report that vacations make them happier than their marriages, their religions, weddings, birthdays and even their cats. (The news is not all bad for cats: the study revealed that consumers who have never taken a vacation are more likely to say that cats make them happy than those who have gone on vacation within the past year.)

Expedia has formally launched its 2013 Summer Sale (details follow) to help consumers find the happiness they crave.

“I love my husband, and I love my cat, but like most Americans, I love them both more when I’m on the beach, with my husband of course, not the cat,” said Sarah Gavin, Expedia Travel Expert, Expedia.com. “Investing in a vacation is one of the best ways to bring more pleasure into your life. The good news is that Expedia has more programs than ever to save money on packages and last minute deals through mobile and Expedia ASAP®, so you get all the pleasure with none of the guilt. You can even give the gift of pleasure with our Groupon Getaways with Expedia program or get a voucher for yourself – stocking up on pleasure at a great discount is an investment in your marriage, your job and your whole life.”

The Expedia Pleasure Index was conducted online within the United States between March 19-21, 2013, among 2,076 adults ages 18 and older by Harris Interactive on behalf of Expedia. Full details on the 2013 Expedia Pleasure Index can be found on Expedia’s Media Room.

Top destinations for pleasure

While couples in search of pleasure tend to head to the same destinations as most Americans, some destinations stand out as “top trend cities” this year. In essence, they over index on couples. They include:

1. Atlantic City
2. Florida Keys
3. Oregon Coast
4. Cape Cod, MA
5. Sedona, AZ
6. Santa Barbara
7. Palm Springs
8. Barcelona (SPA)
9. Charleston, SC
10. Rome (IT)

The pleasure of a free vacation?

Expedia is encouraging travelers to take that much-needed vacation with kickoff of its 2013 Summer Sale. The 2013 Summer Sale begins on May7 and runs through September 2. Participating customers can use a MasterCard card when booking a package or a standalone hotel and have the chance to get the trip for free. One winner will be selected each day over a period of three months.

More than four in five U.S. adults take at least one vacation in a given year.

Men take more pleasure in vacations than do women, according to the Expedia Pleasure Index. Overall, the average number of vacationsper year is three – men who vacation take four vacations per year on average, while women take three. Men also take longer vacations; on average, men take two vacations per year that are five nights or longer, while women only take one such break per year. (Over six in ten U.S. adults – 63% – define a vacation as 4-7 days in length; only 6% of consumers were willing to call a 1-2 day break a “vacation.”) A third (34%) of Americans who have ever taken a vacation visited an urban/city destination during their most recent vacation, while 27% visited the beach and 13% visited the countryside.

While the impact of vacation on overall happiness is clear, Americans’ general sense of their own happiness was more mixed. Less than half (45%) of employed Americans report a general level of satisfaction with their job, and a similar number of Americans (47%) report satisfaction with their love life.