Who considers travel important (and why it matters)?

While it is increasingly acknowledged that travel participation is affected not only by travel constraints but also by the personal importance of travel, the drivers of this perceived travel importance are still poorly understood. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1990–2021), this paper offers first exploratory evidence on the socio-demographic and psychological determinants of personal importance of travel. Travel importance increases with household income and decreases with ill health and the number of children. Women, first- and second-generation migrants, risk lovers, and those scoring higher on the personality traits of openness and extraversion also consider travel more important. The application of the age-period-cohort model suggests that the personal importance of travel declines with age and displays some variation across generations. These findings provide insights for tourism practitioners and policymakers seeking to understand which population groups consider travel more important and, consequently, are more likely to undertake travel.