Travel demographics, patterns, and plans among adult Nordic travelers

• Published in: IJID regions Vol. 7; pp. 136 - 142
• Main Authors: Larsen, Fredrikke Dam, Dalgaard, Lars Skov, Villumsen, Steen, Holmberg, Ville, Asgeirsson, Hilmir, Larsen, Carsten Schade
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Elderly; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Nordic countries; Original Report; Patterns; Plans; Travel; Traveler; VFR travel; Travel; Nordic countries; Plans; VFR travel; Traveler; Patterns; Elderly
• ISSN: 2772-7076; 2772-7076
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2023.03.002

•Destinations, travel demographics, and travel plans were found to be similar among Nordic citizens responding to an online questionnaire [Au? rephrase].•Overall, 37% of respondents had traveled to countries with a higher risk of acquiring travel-related diseases.•Older individuals were found to travel almost as much as younger ones.•One-third of the 60–74-year-olds had visited destinations outside Europe and North America. Despite the high frequency of international travel from Nordic countries annually, data describing demographics, patterns, and plans of travel among Nordic inhabitants are scarce. In 2018, an online questionnaire covering travel patterns, plans, and knowledge about travel-related diseases was sent to Nordic inhabitants 18–74 years of age. At-risk travelers were defined as those who had traveled outside Europe and North America during the previous 2 years. Of the 5407 respondents included, 4371 (80.8%) had traveled abroad within the past 2 years. Among the respondents, 37.0% (n = 1999) were at-risk travelers. The most frequent travel destinations were Europe (n = 3907, 89.4%) and Asia (n = 1019, 23.3%). Russia/Eurasia was a more common destination for Finnish travelers than the other travelers (10.6% vs 2.3–4.1%). Most at-risk travelers had traveled for leisure/tourism (n = 1329, 66.5%). Visiting friends and relatives was more frequent among Norwegian and Swedish travelers (n = 105, 22.0% and n = 98, 19.4%, respectively) than Finnish travelers (n = 74, 12.7%). The elderly traveled often and made up 21.4% of at-risk travelers. Travel demographics, destinations, and future travel plans were similar across the Nordic countries. More than one third had traveled outside Europe/North America. One third were either elderly or visiting friends or relatives.