(Lebanon, N.H. – December 18, 2023) Passenger volumes are up 13% in 2023 compared to last year, according to the TSA. Travelers taking more trips than before the pandemic spearheaded the 2023 travel rebound. The forces driving the rebound include catching up on missed opportunities due to the pandemic shutdown, anxiety that future travel may not be available, and entertainment media inspiring travel.

The possibility of travel restrictions in the future and the YOLO maxim – you only live once – drives millions of travelers to get as many trips in as possible before they no longer can. But travelers also highlight the movies, books and music that inspire them to travel.

According to the survey, the movie Out of Africa starring Meryl Streep, the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne, and the song “Beautiful Day” by U2 were the leading art forms inspiring trips among the world’s most experienced travelers.

Close behind Out of Africa in the category of travel-inspiring movies were the Indiana Jones series led by Harrison Ford, Under the Tuscan Sun starring Diane Lane, Seven Years in Tibet featuring Brad Pitt, Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn, and Lawrence of Arabia led by Peter O’Toole.

The five books survey respondents noted for inspiring travel after Verne’s classic were A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

The Annual List of Top Songs Inspiring Travel includes perennial favorites like “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson, “Take It Easy” by the Eagles, “Vacation” by the Go-Gos, and “Margaritaville” by (the late) Jimmy Buffett. There are a dozen new entries for 2023 (below) and you can find the complete list of the top travel inspiring songs from the past several years here:

  • “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse
  • “Beautiful Day” by U2
  • “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
  • “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles
  • “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac
  • “Moondance” by Van Morrison
  • “Piano Man” by Billy Joel
  • “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zepplin
  • “Son of a Son of a Sailor” by Jimmy Buffett
  • “Sweet Caroline” by Neal Diamond
  • “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith
  • “Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead

More than 80% of the world’s most experienced travelers took as many or more trips in 2023 than at any time before the pandemic, according to the survey. “Travel confidence is exploding in a positive direction. TSA data reflects traveler volumes pushing past pre-pandemic levels for the first time in more than two years. Call it revenge travel or make-up travel, the comeback to international travel is surging,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services and a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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About the Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey

Global Rescue, the leading travel risk and crisis response provider, surveyed more than 2,300 of its current and former members from October 5-12, 2023. The respondents revealed a variety of behaviors, attitudes and preferences regarding current and future travel.

Contact Bill McIntyre at bmcintyre@globalrescue.com or 202.560.1195 (phone/text) for more information.

About Global Rescue

The Global Rescue Companies are the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services to enterprises, governments and individuals. Founded in 2004, Global Rescue has exclusive relationships with the Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine Division of Special Operations and Elite Medical Group. Global Rescue provides best-in-class services that identify, monitor and respond to client medical and security crises. Global Rescue has provided medical and security support to its clients, including Fortune 500 companies, governments and academic institutions, during every globally significant crisis of the last two decades. For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.