It’s True — Your Name Can Secretly Predict Your Next Vacation
Updated: Feb. 13, 2018
One tour company found that certain names are more likely to pick far-off travel destinations, while others are happy to stay closer to home.
The next vacation you pick could be influenced by your first name.
At least that’s what the data suggests, according to On The Go Tours, a travel company that sifted through over 100,000 travel bookings before drawing this conclusion.
Based on their findings, guys named Michael are eager to explore Peru, India, and China, while women named Karen are more likely to travel to Morocco, Iceland, and Jordan. Brians lust after trips to Vietnam and India, and Sarahs are looking for exciting trips to Africa, Russia, and Croatia (which makes sense, because Croatia made our list of best places to travel alone as a woman). Benjamins are more likely to book Africa-bound trips, Jasons seem to be most interested in Egypt, and Annes are packing their bags for Sri Lanka — who knew?
“I think certain personality types are drawn to certain types of travel over other types,” shares Antonia Hall, a psychologist and author. “I suspect that any correlation between names and travel preferences has a random or cultural explanation. If you’re raised in a certain area, you’re probably more apt to travel to surrounding areas and those that are currently popular. Travel tends to have ebbs and flows of popularity, with certain destinations drawing in crowds. That makes far more sense than saying people named Mary like to go to Greece.”
Whether you’re sticking by the psychological explanation of this data or the statistics themselves, you can check if your own name made the On The Go Tours list and see whether it accurately reflects your travel desires. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be inspired to visit a country you never even considered.
