Are People in Major Tourism Destinations Happy?

Does living in a busy tourism destination make people happy, miserable or well adjusted?  A new global survey aims to find out

Overtourism

In an age of escalating overtourism, what is the quality of life like for residents living and working in tourism hotspots? ARE people living and working in major tourism destinations happy and content, or miserable due to tourism? Or somewhere in between? We will soon find out. Hoi An Vietnam

A new global survey of local residents’ happiness in World Heritage sites called Planet Happiness has been launched to address the issue. In an age of escalating overtourism, the initiative aims to show that measuring community wellbeing and happiness is, arguably, a more important metric than GDP, money, and perpetually growing visitor numbers.

The 15-minute online survey is available in 18 languages and is open for anyone to do. The survey measures key indicators, such as satisfaction with life, access to nature and arts, community engagement, standard of living, life-long learning, and health.  “The purpose of tourism in destinations such as Barcelona, Brasilia, Kakadu, Luang Prabang, Kyoto, Yosemite, Mt Everest, Victoria Falls and other renowned places is to strengthen and support the happiness and wellbeing of local people,” says tourism consultant Dr Paul Rogers, (pictured above) co-founder of Planet Happiness. “If tourism fails to do this, it is neither responsible nor sustainable, and local policies should change accordingly.”  PlanetHappiness has been launched at a time when overtourism is becoming a major concern in visitor hotspots around the world, especially World Heritage sites. At the same time there is growing interest in happiness and wellbeing issues among individuals, communities, small and large businesses and nation states. Rogers admits that the survey results may show that people in tourism destinations are happy and that no major changes are needed. Either way, he believes it will be highly useful to compare reactions and responses to tourism and wellbeing in different travel hotspots around the world. 

“It’s more about finding where there are deficiencies – such as having meaningful access to community fulfilment and feeling valued,” says Rogers. “The survey will show people where they are doing well compared to other tourism destinations, and possibly where they should seek to improve their lives.” 

He added: “It’s a new, fresh, more responsible and holistic way of looking at tourism.” 

The Planet Happiness survey is a response to the fact that travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, with over 1.33 billion visitor movements across borders in 2017. Today more than 1 in 10 people are employed in tourism globally. “The more people who do the survey, the better,” says US-based Laura Musikanski, (pictured above)  a lawyer, sustainability process expert and Executive Director of the Happiness Alliance at happycounts.org.

Musikanski says that aggregated local and global data from the Planet Happiness Survey Index will be open source and accessible to everyone with an interest in sustainable tourism and community wellbeing. The project will never share information that could personally identity any individuals. 

The Planet Happiness project encourages all residents and workers in UNESCO World Heritage destinations to take the 15-minute online survey here. The Planet Happiness website will post and regularly update results and share them with journalists, students, businesses, government officials and interested parties around the world. 

Planet Happiness would like to hear from destination managers, universities and any sponsors who would like to support the initiative and help deploy the Happiness Survey in World Heritage sites around the world. 

Further information: www.ourheritageourhappiness.org.