CANARY ISLANDS, March 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

On the occasion of the World Day of Happiness, Canary Islands has conducted a survey in Spain, United Kingdom and Italy to measure what makes us happiest when we travel. The study shows sensitive differences among the participating countries.

The Tourism Board of Canary Islands, one of the most visited destinations in Europe, has carried out the first study on social networks that measures the happiness of travelers. This action has been carried out on the occasion of the World Day of Happiness, celebrated on March 20. The poll was done through PollStickers, a new Instagram application, innovative in format and content, that allows users to express their opinion quickly and dynamically.

The survey has been published in Spain, Italy and United Kingdom and has obtained more than 185,000 responses. The survey data has been collected through 16 specific questions.

The study has revealed coincidental data in all three countries: the clearest, with a revealing percentage of more than 85%, is that a holiday in a warm climate brings more happiness than the holidays spent in a cold weather destination. Also, accompanied vacations are preferred over the possibility of a few days of relaxation in solitude. In fact, 77% say it is more important who you travel with than where you travel.

Despite the fact that vacations are related to relaxation, 60% of participants say that they feel happy doing adventure trips while only 40% admit that their happiness lies in resting.

The study also reveals disparate preferences between countries. In United Kingdom almost half of the participants (49%) opt for nightlife, while in Spain and Italy the vast majority prefer to "live the day" - 78% of Spaniards and 72% Italians say they prefer daytime activities.

Regarding leisure time organization, the survey shows that Spaniards are the ones who feel happiest when improvising, as 54% do it, compared to the British who plan their free time the most.

And, does comfort makes people happy? Well it seems that this is the case in the United Kingdom and Italy. They are the ones who are most attracted to beaches with beach bars, while Spaniards (71%) love virgin beaches.

You can download survey results' video here.

SOURCE The Tourism Board of the Canary Islands