Survey: M2 BEE’s degree students’ travelling habits

Travelling is often considered a key step in self-development, especially in young adults and students. Moreover, asking people about their trip experiences is a great opportunity to learn about them. However, concerns rise about the ecological impacts of travelling. With this in mind, we thought interesting to conduct a survey amongst ecology students. In order to better understand the M2 BEE’s degree students’ travelling habits, we first investigated about the countries they visited. Then, we asked them about their ways of travelling. Lastly, we queried where they wished to travel to and their motives. On average, people have visited 2 to 3 countries, mostly in Europe, even though some have been to more than 10 countries all around the world. It would seem that travelling to neighbouring countries is more convenient, as it is less expensive and easier to access. Interestingly, students were evenly attracted to both wild spaces and cities. This supports the idea that travels give the opportunity to embrace adventure as well as engaging with different cultures through food, historical places or interhuman interactions. The vast majority of students showed a preference for low-cost means of travel. It is worth noting that one of the main motivations behind this choice is the awareness of environmental impacts. Furthermore, economical limits were also taken into account in their decision making. Finally, the main countries where students wished to travel to were in North America, Scandinavia, Japan and South Korea. In addition to the aforementioned arguments, these destinations were associated to a high quality of life and an attractive work environment. To conclude, as diverse as the reasons for travelling may appear, it consistently enables people to learn about themselves and others, and to make memories.