Research reveals three-quarters of Brits feel stressed on holiday
Our research has revealed just how stressful the whole holiday experience can be for the majority of British travellers, with three-quarters (74%) feeling stressed at some point while they’re away from home.
More worryingly, over a fifth (22%) of travellers admit to often feeling more anxious on holiday than they do at home, and one in 10 (10%) report rarely feeling any positive benefit at all from their holiday on their return.
Causes of holiday stress
The main factor behind holiday-related stress, cited by more than a third (36%) of respondents, is the build-up to the trip and getting through the airport. In fact, one in six (17%) holidaymakers dislike this part of the experience so much that they sometimes avoid going abroad at all, as they find the whole process too much effort.
Counterintuitively, another cause of holiday-induced anxiety is the pressure to have a good time precisely because you’re on holiday. This concern, flagged by 16% of respondents, could also be linked to the amount of money that tourists have invested in their foreign break and their desire to get as much bang for their buck as possible.
More positively, the vast majority of travellers do manage to forget about work while they’re sipping cocktails on a sun lounger, with just 7% confessing to thinking about professional worries during their holiday.
Despite the enormous health and wellbeing benefits delivered by a good holiday abroad for most people, our research shows that the overwhelming majority of British holidaymakers also feel stressed at some point during their trip.
Ultimately, holidays should be fun, so anything you can do to reduce your anxiety should be welcomed. One of the easiest and most important pre-holiday steps you can take is to ensure your travel insurance is in place and protecting you with the appropriate level of cover.
Methodology
Data sourced from a survey of 1,000 UK respondents carried out by The Leadership Factor in February 2026.