When gearing up for a lengthy road trip, many travelers place a high priority on compiling songs for a playlist and making sure they have the best tunes to listen to along the way. It's a no-brainer that music will come along for the ride.
In addition to road trips, though, there are several other ways in which music plays a role in the travel experience. Music and travel go hand in hand in more ways than one might realize.
Laura Fernandez, the head of Travel + Tourism advertising business for SiriusXM and its brands Pandora, SoundCloud and Stitcher, recently shared findings from a survey the company conducted, The Pandora Traveler Mindset, in order to get a better understanding of things such as how confident people are to travel and where are they traveling. She explained the survey was also a way to tie music and travel together.
"What we found is, music and travel definitely go hand in hand. But we found that 77 percent of our listeners find music and other audio content … are considered to be a great travel companion," Fernandez shared. "Seventy-three percent of our listeners find music to improve their overall travel experience."
This doesn't only have to do with listening to music while traveling but also listening for inspiration before the trip or during the planning process. It also includes traveling to a specific destination for music in the form of concerts and festivals.
In several destinations, including Nashville, Austin and Las Vegas, music plays an immense role in the experience for tourists. Many travelers will book entire trips around a concert or show, and it's a must to have playlists surrounding the vacation theme. Fernandez points out that music can aid in setting the tone for a vacation.
"Sixty-six percent of listeners think music sets the mood and vibe for their leisure trip," she said, explaining that this can come in the form of listening to music during a plane ride or on a drive to a destination or even while planning the trip and thinking of memories from the trip afterward.
Another interesting discovery from the survey is how many listeners find music to be a source for calming.
"Sixty-seven percent of our Pandora listeners find music to be a stress anxiety reliever," Fernandez shared, adding that that listening to music is right up there with other self-care activities such as going for a walk, being outside, cooking, etc. where visual media is not accessible.
The findings from the Pandora research study clearly show more often than not travelers incorporate music in one way or another during their travel experience.
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