Impact of Settlement Size and Regional Density on the Frequency of Different Holiday Types

Despite its contribution to climate change, holiday travel has received less attention in research than daily travel. Research has revealed that individuals residing in dense and large settlements tend to travel more frequently and over longer distances. Whether this is attributable to compensation for shortcomings of dense cities or a reflection of lifestyle is still inconclusive, yet important to uncover for formulating mitigation strategies for the environmental impact. To advance this discussion, we analyze the 2019 Norwegian holiday travel survey to determine to what extent settlement size and regional density in Norway are associated with different holiday types that reflect different lifestyles and motivations. Using negative binomial and logistic regression while controlling for socioeconomic factors, we find that (1) it is not settlement size that influences the number of holiday trips, but whether a settlement lies in a dense county; (2) making nature getaways in Scandinavia and intercontinental trips are both positively associated with county density; (3) making city trips does not show a consistent link with spatial characteristics; (4) Mediterranean seaside holidays are typical for all Norwegians, no matter the place of residence. Our results indicate compensatory motivation behind nature getaways. However, dense everyday surroundings are not detrimental to visiting other densely populated areas on city vacations. The increased likelihood of intercontinental trips among people in dense areas may be explained by lifestyle and cosmopolitan attitudes rather than being a result of compensation.