Different cultures, different currencies, different languages. Same thankless job. Klook's new research surveyed 2,725 travelers across 10 markets, and no matter where they lived, the results told the same story: travel planning is the least appreciated task of all.
THE THANKLESS TASK
Among ten everyday favors people do for others, from carrying heavy bags to opening doors, travel planning ranked as the #1 least-thanked task worldwide.
Non-planners believe that organizing a week-long group trip takes fewer than 10 hours. In reality, more than 7 in 10 planners insisted that they spend more than 10 hours organizing a single trip. In fact, 45.9% spend up to 20 hours and 28.0% spend up to, and even more, than 40 hours!
Because planning a trip is not a single task. It is many tasks disguised as one.
AN ACTUAL JOB
The travel planner is the group's operations manager, customer service desk, and crisis hotline, all rolled into one.
The biggest source of stress for travel planners globally is managing human logistics. Their top stressors include managing budgets (57.0%), coordinating schedules (53.8%), and comparing flights and accommodations (47.4%).
Beyond managing budgets and schedules, planners also shoulder the emotional labor of the trip: 61.3% say their top skill is choosing options that minimize group drama, prevent conflict, and keep everyone happy.
While everyone else is relaxing, the planner is still on duty. More than half of travel planners check their phones six or more times a day during the trip to manage bookings, directions, and logistics.
THE COST OF THE JOB
While many travelers outsource decision-making with an "I'm happy with anything," it is the planner who remains accountable. And the blame does not add up: far more planners say they get blamed than non-planners admit to blaming them.
The top three complaints are:
- "Why didn't we do this instead?" (59.2%)
- "I could've planned this better." (58.1%)
- "That's out of my budget." (51.3%)
Tough job.
In fact, if being a planner looks, feels, and operates like a job, how much should they get paid for it?
More than 7 in 10 travel planners believe they deserve to be paid US$50 or more per hour for their efforts. Given that most planners spend between 10 to 20 hours organizing a week-long group trip, that amounts to as much as US$1,000 or more in unpaid labor.
And that is before the holiday has even begun.
HOW CAN WE PAY THEM BACK?
Planners keep planning because someone has to turn "we should go somewhere" into "remember that amazing trip?"
Some 63.3% of travel planners say the trip only makes it out of the group chat because of them, while 67.5% believe the group would not travel as well without a planner.
It is time to give the world's travel planners the recognition they deserve.
After spending hours coordinating schedules, managing budgets (and egos), solving problems before anyone notices them, and taking the blame when things go wrong, it is perhaps no surprise that more than 8 in 10 travel planners believe they deserve more recognition for everything they do.
Behind every memorable holiday is someone investing their time, energy, and mental effort so everyone else can just show up.
It is time we give our travel planners the appreciation they deserve, and thank the friend or family member who makes the holiday possible.
