Spend Less, Have A Better Vacation?

A good vacation is not so much about the good things– the beach, the free time, the scenery — as an absence of bad things, according to a new study.

What can really determine the quality of a vacation is the amount of worry – about things like health, safety and overspending, according to a study by Virginia Tech marketing professor Joe Sirgy reported by HealthDay news.

The findings support the idea that people may enjoy budget vacations more than expensive ones. According to a Virginia Tech press release on the subject:

Sirgy found that financially, vacationers’ satisfaction stemmed from “not running out of money during the trip, not returning with significant debt, and not spending on frivolous things” — rather than “feeling that the trip was well worth the money spent, spending money specifically saved for travel, or saving money through bargain hunting and thriftiness.”