80+ Eye-Popping Travel Facts and Stats [2023]

Travel is kind of a big deal for most of us.

So—

In honor of all things wanderlust, we’ve rounded up 80+ surprising facts and stats about travel to help you appreciate just how incredible it really is.

Buckle in.

Top 10 Fun Travel Statistics and Facts to Know in 2023

1. The most visited countries in the world are France (89.4M), Spain (82.7M), and the US (79.6M).
2. Lower air pressure and dryness in the plane cabin reduce your taste buds’ sensitivity to sweet and salty foods by ~30%, which is why food tastes different when flying.
3. It’s still 2015 in Ethiopia due to alternate calculations in determining the annunciation date of Jesus’ birth.
4. Bulgarians shake their heads from side to side to mean “yes” and nod up and down to say “no.”
5. The shortest scheduled passenger flight is the Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route in Orkney, Scotland, which lasts around one and a half minutes. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds.
6. The world’s longest town name is “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.” It sits on the Welsh island of Anglesey, across the Menai Strait from the city of Bangor.
7. Monaco is smaller than Central Park in New York. Yet, nearly one in three people who live there are millionaires.
8. The island of Yap uses rocks as currency.
9. Travelers gain an average of ~0.6 pounds (~0.3 kg) during a 1–3 week trip.
10. About 40% of Generation Y choose travel destinations based on how Instagrammable the pictures will turn out.

Do you need passport photos? Find out more:

• US Visa Photo
• Passport Photos Near Me
• How to Take a Passport Photo at Home?

General Fun Travel Stats and Facts

• Italy has a free, 24/7 wine fountain in the small town of Ortona, Abruzzo.
• Of 1.42M lakes on planet Earth, Canada is home to 62% of them.
• Roughly 600 people help run and maintain the Eiffel Tower every day. 
• Jet lag is worse after traveling east than west. That’s likely due to greater difficulty of advancing rather than delaying the body’s internal clock.
• While the official languages of Papua New Guinea are Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin, and English, the nation is considered the most linguistically diverse, with nearly 820 languages.
• France covers more time zones than any country (12), followed by Russia (11), the United States (11), and Antarctica (9).
• Indonesia comprises over 17.5K islands with a total coastline of 50.5 miles (81.3K km).
• Libya has the highest percentage of deserts: 99%.
• The least visited country in the world is Tuvalu, located halfway between Australia and Hawaii.
• About 27% of the Netherlands is below sea level. 
• Australia is the only country in the world that occupies a whole continent.
• Norway and Sweden have the most islands globally, mainly in the Arctic.
• Greenland is the largest island on the planet.
• Canada has the longest coastline globally, bordering three oceans with its thousands of islands.
• Mongolia has the lowest population density of around 4.4 people per square mile (~1.7 people/sq km).
• There are roughly 6.5K languages in the world today. Yet, nearly 97% of the population speaks just 4% of them.

• The world’s shortest geographical place name is the Norwegian town of Å (pronounced “aw”), which means “river” in the Scandinavian languages.
• Every coin thrown into Rome’s Trevi Fountain is collected every day and donated to charity.
• The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00, even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones.
• The White Mountains of California are home to Methuselah, a 4,853-year-old tree.
• Australia has over 10K beaches. It’d take 27 years to visit a new one every day.
• The Northern Hemisphere is home to ~6.4B people (around 87% of Earth’s population).
• Known as the “City of Bridges,” Pittsburgh boasts 446 bridges—more than any other city, including Venice.
• Iceland is a mosquito-free country.
• France has the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants.
• The most visited city in the world is Hong Kong (29M+ visitors yearly), followed by Bangkok (24M+) and London (19M+).
• Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world in 2022.
• Malaysia boasts the world’s largest hotel, the First World Hotel, with 7.3K+ rooms.
• Only 11% of Americans have been to 10 countries or more.
• Louvre is the most visited museum globally, followed by Beijing’s National Museum of China and Tate Modern in London.
• There was a village spelled  “Fucking” in Austria until 2021, whose residents were known as “The Fuckingers.” The village’s name has recently been changed to Fugging.
• The world’s longest road is the Pan-American highway, with a length of 30K miles (48.2K km), which stretches from Canada to South America.
• The global revenue of the travel industry dropped by 42% in 2020 due to coronavirus.

• The US recorded a tourism revenue loss of ~$147B between January and October 2020.
• The United States’ Magic Kingdom (Walt Disney World) was visited by ~7M people in 2020, becoming the most visited amusement park globally.
• New York is the leading city destination in America, welcoming ~5.42M foreign visitors every year.

Social Media, Smartphones, Airbnb, and Work vs. Travel

• 89% of US travelers checked social media during their most recent vacation.

• 55% of vacationers spend between 30 and 120 minutes daily on social media sites.
• Most Americans (71%) check their smartphones 32–80 times per day on average when traveling—10% admit they take a peek ~160 times every day.
• A little over 50% of travelers decided to visit a destination after seeing its images and/or videos from friends, family, or peers on social media.
• 60% of Americans post photos on social media while away. In the case of Millenials, that number shoots up to 97%.
• Friends’ photos on Facebook impact over 50% of users’ travel plans.
• 1M+ travel-related hashtags are searched on Instagram weekly.
• About 70% of US travelers update their Facebook status while on vacation.
• In 2015, Justin Bieber shot a music video for “I’ll Show You” at the Fjadrárgljúfur canyon in Iceland. Fast forward a few years, and tourism to the once-sleepy town almost doubled.
• Instagram boasts 300M+ posts with the word “travel” in them.

• Airbnb has 7M+ listings worldwide.
• With a market cap of ~$104.25B, Airbnb ranks first among the top online travel companies.
• The number of US travelers who use Airbnb likely reached 45.6M in 2022.
• Every second, roughly six guests check into Airbnb rentals.
• Airbnb is active in ~98% of the world. Exceptions are North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan.

• 59% of travelers are ready to spend extra to make their trip more sustainable.
• 61% of people say the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged them to travel more sustainably in the future.
• 36% of vacationers become angry when their companion constantly takes photos or selfies.
• 75% of American travelers consider their cell phones the number one travel accessory.
• Six in 10 travelers say using smartphones for work made them unable to relax and recharge their batteries.
• 60% of US working professionals say their managers expect them to stay connected while on vacation.
• Just over half of workers (55%) feel they should respond to work emails while away, even if the company doesn’t require it.
• 66% of employees in America wish they’d been unreachable from work during their most recent vacation.
• 69% are less likely to quit after taking a workation.
• The US is the only developed country in the world without a single legally required paid vacation day. In contrast, every EU country has at least four work weeks of paid vacation.

Air Travel: Trivia Facts and Statistics

• During a 10-hour flight, men can lose ~66 ounces of water (~2 liters) and women ~54 ounces (~1.6 liters).
• Boeing 747 uses around one gallon of fuel (4 liters) every second. Throughout a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36K gallons (150K liters).
• During a routine flight, the temperature outside the plane ranges from -40°F to -70°F (-40°C to -56°C).
• There are ~61K people in the airspace above the United States at any given moment.

• Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the world’s busiest airport located in Baiyun-Huadu, Guangzhou, Guangdong.
• The longest nonstop commercial flight is from Los Angeles to Singapore (serviced by United Airlines), scheduled at 17 hours and 50 minutes.
• Qatar Airlines’ Auckland to Doha route is the longest flight globally by distance, at 9,032 miles (14,535 km).
• The most expensive airport taxis worldwide are in Hiroshima and Oita airports in Japan, with fees reaching $165.
• Pilots and co-pilots are advised not to eat the same food. The rationale being if something is wrong with the meal, the unaffected pilot could always take over.

FAQ

Stacking It All Up

There you have it.

A comprehensive list of surprising travel statistics and facts you can use to spice up your knowledge.

Let us know in the comments if there are any other unusual travel statistics you’d like to see.

Fair Use Statement

Did you like our infographics? If so, feel free to share them with your audience. Just remember to mention the source and link back to this page.

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Max Woolf

As a Digital PR specialist and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Max has 5+ years of writing experience.
Over the course of his career, Max’s work has garnered significant attention, with features in numerous prominent publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, Inc., Business Insider, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, BBC, TechRepublic, Glassdoor, and G2.