Exploring motivations and barriers for long-distance trips of adult women Vermonters

Available data on long-distance travel, both quantitative and qualitative, are limited, including measures of relative accessibility to intercity destinations and its role in overall well-being. Moreover, existing travel data only include realized travel, not unmet need. Twenty-four original semi-structured interviews were conducted with women aged 25 years or older in Vermont USA to better understand the motivations and barriers of longdistance travel that cannot be fully explored in quantitative surveys. The relationship between travel, well-being, and social networks is also considered. Those interviewed indicated long-distance travel played a significant role in their lives by facilitating visits to friends and family, leisure, breaks from routine, and fulfilling personal obligations. As expected, long-distance travel was limited by cost as well as both household and work obligations. Physical limitations were noted as a barrier but the number of people raising fears about travel, being away from home, and travel logistics was unexpected. The interviews also revealed intercity travel as a symbol of social status which in turn created negative impacts for some. Latent demand for long-distance travel was common and larger than expected among the interviewees. Finally, results pointed to overlap between work and personal travel as well as a sense of obligation. While long-distance travel is often considered discretionary, this study suggests intercity non-discretionary personal trips as well as unmet demand merit future attention in both surveys and qualitative research.