The holiday happiness curve: a preliminary investigation into mood during a holiday abroad

We take holidays for pleasure, but how well do we actually feel during our holiday? This question was addressed in a study of 481 international tourists in the Netherlands, who answered questions about their mood of the day and about their satisfaction with life in general. Average mood appears to be high. Mood was somewhat lower among people who were in the first ‘travel phase’ of about 10% of the holiday duration. Mood was highest during the ‘core phase’, which covers about 70% of the holiday time. Mood then declines slightly, but increases during the last part of the holiday.