A relaxing vacation means “lying on a deck chair and doing nothing,” right? Wrong. Studies show actively pursuing a hobby can help you feel more relaxed, positive, and actually less prone to illness as you age. Statista’s latest data, published in February 2024, shows the most popular hobbies to pursue during your “hobbydays” (instead of “Holidays”). It looked at the most popular hobbies in 13 countries around the world, and we will tell you more about them.

Why hobbies boost happiness

Having a hobby is linked to long-term happiness in old age. That’s the result of a global study conducted in 2023. The London-based UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care surveyed 90,000 people in 16 countries (Europe, USA, Japan, China) and found that:

People who have a hobby experience a decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in life satisfaction and happiness.

According to neuroscientist Ciara McCabe, a professor at the University of Reading, many hobbies also improve our health and prevent disease. Playing a musical instrument improves memory, while reading as well as playing board games helps prevent dementia in later life. So, it’s not just the well-known “health hobbies” like fitness, walking or yoga that promote good health, but also crafts and games.

A hobby traveler’s hotel

Science suggests that the left hemisphere of the brain processes logical and rational thinking, while the right hemisphere processes emotional and creative thinking. “The vast majority of pursuits and hobbies are about getting the left brain to shut up.” British PR guru Matthew Freud says. The producer has recently ventured into the hotel business, opening an experimental luxury hotel for hobby travelers.

At The Bull in Burford, UK, guests are encouraged to take up hobbies. There’s a book club, photography workshops, chess, yoga classes, gardening… not participating is like going to a restaurant and not eating.

But the focus of the hotel is on luxury and community, not sustainability. Moreover, if you study lists of the most popular hobbies in different countries, not all of them are environmentally friendly (e.g., motorcycling or recreational flying).

What are the most popular hobbies around the world?

We looked at lists from different countries (13 in total) to determine the most popular hobbies. Interesting: In 5 countries (including Switzerland and India), “traveling” is the number one hobby. Also among the top hobbies are:

• Cooking / Baking (1st place in France)
• Reading (most popular hobby in England, Canada and Turkey)
• Outdoor activities (for the Swiss, immediately behind travelling)
• Sports / Fitness (2nd place in China)
• Computers/Technology (the most popular hobby in Brazil)
• Meet up with friends (Top spot for Austrians and Germans)

However, there are several surveys with different results regarding hobbies. For example, according to Statista, the “most common leisure activity” of Germans is gardening. Not mentioned anywhere is stamp collecting, which I used to do as a kid (it’s incredible how you can feel so old at the age of 41 🙂 ).

Sustainable hobbies for your Hobbydays

What hobbies do you have? Or what hobbies would you like to have? If you want to spend some Hobbydays (we had to bring in that gurky pun again). We have some nice ideas for you.

Just trying a hobby once on holiday can “kickstart our reward system and subsequently our motivation to do the hobby again,” says Professor Ciara McCabe, an Associate Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at the University of Reading.

Sustainability depends on how many resources your hobby uses and how you practice it. Reading is more sustainable if you buy used books, and exercise is more sustainable if it is done without electronics or sports facility (e.g. trail running instead of track running). A sustainable cooking class can teach you how to cook without waste, and a craft class can bring items back to life by upcycling them instead of buying new (and usually less sustainable) materials just for a craft idea.

Below you will find a selection of hobbies we covered on the Green Travel Blog, along with the corresponding “Hobbyday” accommodation. In addition, you will find out about sustainability in each article – just click on the picture!

Did we forget to mention a hobby? Probably! Tell us in the comments about your hobbies and how the perfect Hobbydays would look for you. 

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