How to pick the perfect holiday for your personality

By Kate Schneide

The key to finding your perfect type of holiday may lie in discovering your personality traits / Supplied

HAVE you ever returned from a holiday feeling underwhelmed, or needing another trip away to recover?

A city break that’s a bit too hectic or a holiday that’s too tranquil may be the result of not having chosen the right holiday for your personality type, travel booking site Expedia says.

The key to selecting the perfect getaway lies in knowing both your and your travel companion’s personality types, Expedia Australia’s Marketing Manager Louise Crompton says.

Researching likely holiday scenarios and considering these alongside practical elements such as time available, distance and budget, can help.

“Choosing the right holiday is more than just picking a place or experience that sounds fun or interesting,” she said.

“Travellers should carefully reflect on what makes them and their travel companions tick, and then research travel destination options and consult independent traveller reviews.“

Dr Marylouise Caldwell, a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Sydney, says that a model called the Five Factor, which includes five broad domains of personality that have been found to include roughly all known personality traits, could aid traveller in picking the perfect holiday.

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The five personality traits include extrovert or introvert, apprehensive or relaxed, open or closed, conservative or eccentric, conscientious or non-conscientious.

So which ones relate to you?

Personality Trait #1: Extrovert v Introvert

Extroverts are characterised by sociability, assertiveness, activity, talkativeness and the need for excitement and stimulation.

Conversely, introverts are typically more reserved, and prefer to be alone or in small groups. They like to lead life at a more even pace.

Holiday behaviour: Extroverts seek holiday experiences that provide high levels of stimulation, novelty, risk taking and social interaction. They tend to prefer big cities, restaurants and crowded bars rather than art galleries and temples or churches. They don’t like to rise too early – they are likely to stay out to the wee hours because they are night owls.

Introverts are the opposite: they like activities that promote introspection, deep thinking and experiences that have an intellectual or mystical bent, like art-house film festivals or meditating at Buddhist retreats.

Personality Trait #2: Apprehensive v Relaxed

Apprehensive people tend to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, disappointment, embarrassment, anger, guilt and disgust, while relaxed individuals tend to have an absence of these feelings.

Relaxed people are not easily flustered, shocked or irritated and they tend to be even tempered.

Holiday behaviour: Apprehensive individuals tend to seek destinations, cultural activities and food types that remind them of home, or past travel experiences. Although they prefer not to travel alone, they can find resorts or holiday experiences with high levels of socialising and activities overwhelming.

Relaxed people are just the opposite. They are okay with trips involving unknowns, and deal with new challenges one at a time and take them in their stride.

Personality Trait #3: Open v Closed

Open people are characterised by vivid fantasy, attraction to art and beauty, depth of feelings, intellectual curiosity and flexible value systems. Very open people seek heaps of different types of experiences that are emotional, sensual, aesthetic or social.

Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty and are resistant to new or unfamiliar experiences – similar to apprehensive individuals.

Holiday behaviour: Open people will rarely go back to the same destination unless they have fallen in love with the place and wish to explore it further. They seek urban hubs that offer lots of variety, such as London, Paris, New York or Sydney – not smaller cities like Darwin, Cleveland or Birmingham.

Closed people visit places they have fond memories of such as their hometowns. They will often go back to the same holiday destination time and time again.

Personality Trait #4: Conservative v Eccentric

Conservative types are cooperative, altruistic and easily fit in with others. They gravitate towards what is traditional or the norm.

Eccentrics like to be different to others, staying clear of what they consider to be fads. They are often uninterested in others, let alone others’ opinions.

Holiday behaviour: Conservative types will often do what is socially accepted and rewarded – taking holidays that others will be impressed by within their immediate social circles. Hence they love telling others where they have been and showing them their latest holiday photos.

Eccentrics take holidays that might not win them much social approval, such as bird-watching in Siberia!

Personality Trait #5: Conscientious v Non-conscientious

People with a conscientious personality trait enjoy control, planning and order. They are always prepared and pay attention to detail, doing their best to control what’s going on around them.

Non-conscientious people tend to be less disciplined and are inclined to be a lot more self-indulgent and impulsive. They often appear disorganised.

Holiday behaviour: Conscientious people like to plan well in advance – way before a holiday even begins. They tend to have strict time and money budgets and will spend a lot of time researching on the internet, reading travel books and questioning their travel agents.

Non-conscientious people are spontaneous, acting on their desires without planning or notice and will go along with the flow with whatever might come along in their travels.