Traveling better in 2016: 1,000 world travelers weighed in; Here's what they said..

LITTLETON, COLO. - Just in time for 2016 vacation planning, Monograms – an international travel company and part of the Globus family of brands – has unveiled results from a new Traveling Better study spotlighting travelers' views about the good ways (and not-so-good ways) to travel the world. This nine-question survey of 1,168 world travelers examines what they value most when vacationing in a foreign destination.

Traveling internationally on vacation, according to survey respondents, is considered more stressful (by 63% of travelers) than domestic getaways. In fact, according to this new study, there are four major stresses that take away from vacation fun: 

• Thirty-eight percent (38%) of travelers considered the single-largest stressor to be transportation hassles (from finding transportation at the airport to getting around a destination).
• Thirty percent (30%) cited inferior hotels/bad hotel locations as a deterrent for fun while on vacation.
• Other stressors cited were language barriers (21%) and getting lost (11%).

Conversely, traveling – according to survey respondents – can be greatly enhanced by the following experiences in order of importance:

• Centrally located hotels (41%)
• Easy, pre-planned transportation (27%)
• The assistance of a local expert (17%)
• Front-of-line access to must-see sites (16%)

Further, a vast majority of travelers (85%) are willing to pay for more fun and less stress on vacation. In fact, fifty-two percent (52%) said they would be willing to invest more than $500 to encounter fewer hassles and frustrations while traveling the world.

"Traveling the world can be an amazing – and even better – an exciting and memorable experience! It should be," said Steve Born, vice president of marketing for the Globus family of brands.  "You just have to know how to do it right."

In a place where everything is foreign, Monograms is providing travelers the "better" solutions they're looking for. As part of its all-in-one vacation packages, Monograms offers travelers:

• An on-site Local Host who helps them personalize their experience.
• Hand-selected hotels in the heart of the destination
• VIP treatment by skipping the lines at must-see sites.
• Stress-free transportation to and around their destination.

And, while a large majority of travelers from the Traveling Better study saw Monograms' all-in-one offerings such as front-of-line access and the on-call services of a local expert as perks, Monograms considers them to be point-of-entry. 

"We assume all travelers want to enjoy their vacation and increase their happiness before during and after their trip," said Born. "Our goal is to make every Monograms trip a happy vacation. It's a lofty ideal but an important objective because vacations – and traveling the world – should be enjoyable."

Monograms Survey