Travel demographics, patterns, and plans among adult Nordic travelers.

ABSTRACT

Background: Despite the high frequency of international travel from Nordic countries annually, data describing demographics, patterns, and plans of travel among Nordic inhabitants are scarce. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.