holidays matter - key facts

Making the case for Social Tourism

Making the case for Social Tourism

FOREWORD

Do holidays increase happiness? Most of us lucky enough to take holidays surely think they do. In the UK our belief that holidays are now necessities

and not luxuries makes tourism the fifth largest industry.

Holidays matter. They surely matter most to those least able to manage even a modest break. This much-needed research looks at the effects of a holiday on the well-being of families in our society who most need one. The results help make the compelling case for social tourism in the UK.

Alison Rice Travel journalist and broadcaster Vice chair Family Holiday Association

Introduction – Holidays matter Holidays Matter. But how do they matter, to whom and how do we know they matter? This leaflet highlights findings from our recent study into the links between holiday participation and subjective well-being. The research is the culmination of a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership between the Family Holiday Association and the Nottingham University Business School. This important project aimed to improve the evidence and monitoring activity of the charity and to enable it to understand the impact of holidays on disadvantaged people’s lives. This will ensure the charity can make the case for its work more effectively with policymakers and the general public, which provides all its funding through generous donations.

What do we mean by social tourism? “ All activities, relationships and phenomena in the field of tourism resulting from the inclusion of otherwise disadvantaged and excluded groups in participation in tourism. The inclusion of these groups in tourism is made possible through financial or other interventions of a well defined and social nature.”

(McCabe, Minnaert and Diekmann: 2012: 29)

Why is the study needed? Recent research has explored the benefits of social tourism for disadvantaged groups in society; a lot of this has been conducted with the help of the Family Holiday Association. However, this work has not explored in detail the effects of a holiday on subjective well-being. Measures of subjective well-being are developing rapidly, as the government needs to understand the impact of policies on our happiness. Building on previous research that explored issues connecting social tourism to quality of life, also undertaken in conjunction with the charity, this new study provides significant new findings about how a holiday affects different areas of subjective well-being. The research is particularly relevant thanks to a renewed focus on well-being in research and policy. In 2010 the UK government announced it was going to develop new indicators to measure national well-being.

FOREWORD

Do holidays increase happiness? Most of us lucky enough to take holidays surely think they do. In the UK our belief that holidays are now necessities

and not luxuries makes tourism the fifth largest industry.

Holidays matter. They surely matter most to those least able to manage even a modest break. This much-needed research looks at the effects of a holiday on the well-being of families in our society who most need one. The results help make the compelling case for social tourism in the UK.

Alison Rice Travel journalist and broadcaster Vice chair Family Holiday Association

Introduction – Holidays matter Holidays Matter. But how do they matter, to whom and how do we know they matter? This leaflet highlights findings from our recent study into the links between holiday participation and subjective well-being. The research is the culmination of a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership between the Family Holiday Association and the Nottingham University Business School. This important project aimed to improve the evidence and monitoring activity of the charity and to enable it to understand the impact of holidays on disadvantaged people’s lives. This will ensure the charity can make the case for its work more effectively with policymakers and the general public, which provides all its funding through generous donations.

What do we mean by social tourism? “ All activities, relationships and phenomena in the field of tourism resulting from the inclusion of otherwise disadvantaged and excluded groups in participation in tourism. The inclusion of these groups in tourism is made possible through financial or other interventions of a well defined and social nature.”

(McCabe, Minnaert and Diekmann: 2012: 29)

Why is the study needed? Recent research has explored the benefits of social tourism for disadvantaged groups in society; a lot of this has been conducted with the help of the Family Holiday Association. However, this work has not explored in detail the effects of a holiday on subjective well-being. Measures of subjective well-being are developing rapidly, as the government needs to understand the impact of policies on our happiness. Building on previous research that explored issues connecting social tourism to quality of life, also undertaken in conjunction with the charity, this new study provides significant new findings about how a holiday effects different areas of subjective well-being. The research is particularly relevant thanks to a renewed focus on well-being in research and policy. In 2010 the UK government announced it was going to develop new indicators to measure national well-being.

How did we measure well-being?Area measured Taken fromSection A: Life domains(Health, accommodation, social life, amount of leisure time, way spend leisure time, family, income, employment status)

Section B: Emotional well-beingPositive affect (Happy, enjoyed life)

Negative affect (Sad, depressed)

Section C: Satisfaction with life (Five questions around life satisfaction)

Section D: Eudaemonic well-being (Psychological resources) Social well-being (Relationships) (Six questions around supportive relationships)

Positive functioning (Self esteem and resilience) (Self esteem, resilience and optimism)

Characteristics of the sample The study was carried out between July and December 2011 and surveyed a number of applicants for funding assistance from the Family Holiday Association. The graph below demonstrates the issues commonly affecting those families:

In total 127 respondents completed the pre-holiday and post-holiday surveys; 89% of respondents were women. The average family was made up of four members and 41% of these families had never been on holiday

The pre and post surveys measured 27 areas of well-being, with further questions investigating possible improvements as a result of the holiday in health, social life, family bonds, quality of life, happiness and optimism.

KEY FINDINGS Did well-being improve after the holiday?A comparison of the pre-holiday and post-holiday data highlighted statistically significant increases in several key dimensions used to measure subjective well-being.

The satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) which provides an overall evaluation of a person’s life saw a statistically significant increase after the holiday. The average score of the SWLS improved after the holiday changing from slightly dissatisfied to neutral.

The survey in total measured 27 dimensions of well-being, looking at these dimensions separately 10 saw statistically significant changes after the holiday. These dimensions were:

1. Satisfaction with family 2. Satisfaction with employment (decrease) 3. Satisfaction with social life 4. Satisfaction with the amount of leisure time 5. Satisfaction with the way leisure time is spent

The decrease in satisfaction with employment is an interesting finding as already stated 64% of respondents in this sample were unemployed. The decreasing scores for satisfaction with employment status could mean that respondents became less satisfied with being unemployed after the holiday. Further research would be necessary to confirm the changes in satisfaction with employment status.

Well-being and the holiday A number of questions were asked about whether the holiday had a direct affect on some aspects of well-being. As the graph below shows high levels of improvement were felt by respondents after the holiday particularly in family relationships, health, and social and leisure time.

The graph shows the importance of family bonding with 84% of families reporting improvements in family relationships and 80% reporting time spent with their family was more enjoyable.

British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), Institute for Social and Economic Research, 2009.

New Economic Foundation (NEF), National accounts of well-being, 2009.

Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Diener et al, 1985.

New Economic Foundation (NEF), National accounts of well-being, 2009. 6. Time spent with family enjoyable

7. Time spent with family stressful (decrease) 8. Loneliness 9. Resilience 10. Life satisfaction- change nothing in life

Social lifeLeisure timeHealthFamily time that is enjoyable

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81% mental health

65% unemployment

61% debt

45% physical health

44% special needs

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Other questions were asked about the impact of holidays on happiness, optimism and general outlook of life.

In relation to quality of life, the graph shows that a high number of people reported that the holiday had moderate to extreme affect on their quality of life.

Rating of quality of life after holiday

Does the well-being of social tourists differ to general tourists? The families supported by the Family Holiday Association are often affected by a number of difficult issues and circumstances. Therefore we wanted to know if they experienced lower levels of well-being compared to the general population. We compared the well-being scores from our study with those collected at the national level and confirmed that they generally have lower levels of well-being after a holiday and specifically, they had significantly lower satisfaction levels with their accommodation, health, income, employment, social life, leisure time and happiness.

Very slightly or not at allA littleModeratelyQuite a bit

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77% of families were happier after the holiday

70% of families were more optimistic after the holiday

74% of families had a more positive outlook on life after the holiday

IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESEARCH The findings demonstrate significant changes in family life and relationships that can be attributed to the holiday and also changes in people’s general levels of subjective well-being. It also shows that this group of people “social tourists” have significantly lower levels of satisfaction with the quality of their lives. Social tourists face many difficult and complex issues in their daily lives, which could mean that the impacts of the holiday have a greater effect on their well-being or that they have lower expectations from a holiday than general tourists.

– Policy makers in tourism need to be aware of and recognise the important benefits that a regular holiday can have on everyone’s sense of well-being. Holidays are about fun and relaxation, but they are also about personal growth and provide important opportunities to achieve work/life balance.

– Social policy makers should take account of the potential for social tourism to lead to improvements in different areas of well-being and recognise the potential implications particularly in terms of health, social and educational welfare policy.

– The tourism industry needs to be able to develop products that encourage take-up amongst low-income and other vulnerable consumer segments.

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Contact details E [email protected] W www.FamilyHolidayAssociation.org.uk T 020 3117 0650

The Family Holiday Association is the only charity in the UK that specialises in helping provide holidays for families and children in need. Since its beginning in 1975 the Family Holiday Association has helped over 150,000 parents, children and young people to enjoy a break.

Nottingham University Business School’s mission is to enhance business and management knowledge and practice through influential research of an international standard, world class teaching programmes and significant engagement with private and public organisations at regional, national and international levels.

Knowledge Transfer Partnership is Europe’s leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance through the better use of the knowledge, technology and skills that are available within the UK knowledge base. The UK- wide programme is headed by the Technology Strategy Board and supported by 21 other public sector funding organisations.

Further details Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Lar.Sem, R.J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale, Journal of Personality Assessment, 49 (1), 71-75.

Institute for Social and Economic Research. (2009). British Household Panel Survey, Wave 18. Essex. The University of Essex.

McCabe, S.,Minnaert, L. and Diekmann, A. (eds) Social tourism in Europe: Theory and Practice. Bristol. Channel View Publications.

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holidays matter - key facts

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