Despite travel being the greatest pleasure in many people’s lives, it often goes hand-in-hand with stress, from packing to technology mishaps.
New research from Global Rescue, a leading travel risk and crisis response provider has, interestingly, shown that overpacking is still the biggest mistake travellers continue to make.
In its latest Traveller Sentiment and Safety survey, data showed that people are actually considering overpacking to be their most significant mistake than in previous years.
In fact, 38% of experienced international travellers say it’s their worst error, up from 32% in 2025 and 35% in both 2024 and 2023.
The issue is much less bad than before the COVID-19 pandemic, though. In February 2020, a staggering 74% of travellers identified overpacking as their biggest issue.
It’s still a problem though, even if fewer people are affected by it.
“Overpacking is the single most consistent preventable mistake we see, year after year,” Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies, said.
“It’s a habit that adds stress, weight and unnecessary complexity to every stage of a trip, when the real goal of travel should be freedom, flexibility and discovery.”
As well as being overwhelming, overpacking can actually prove dangerous.
“Heavy luggage increases fatigue, reduces balance and raises the risk of falls, back strains and other orthopedic injuries while navigating airports, cruise terminals, cobblestone streets or rugged trails,” Richards said.
It can also be a real problem during travel emergencies, like evacuating due to a wildfire, civil unrest or a hurricane.
“Travellers burdened with oversized or multiple bags move more slowly, tire more quickly and may have to abandon their luggage altogether. In a crisis, the ability to move quickly can be just as important as what you packed,” Richards added.
It’s not just overpacking
When it comes to travel, there are myriad things that can go wrong and, sometimes, do.
19% of survey respondents said that booking excessively tight layover connections caused them the greatest problems on international trips.
A further 10% regretted over-scheduling their itineraries with little to no buffer time, and 8% regretted setting off without downloading offline maps or digital booking documents.
8% pointed to falling foul of sky high currency exchange rates at airport kiosks as opposed to planning ahead.
Travel hacks to know
As well as travel mistakes, the surveyed travellers also shared their top travel hacks to make a trip go smoothly as possible.
At the top of the list is a thoroughly modern solution – namely placing smart tags in checked luggage, a favourite hack of 31% of respondents, while 16% make sure to email digital copies of passports and identification documents to themselves.
Packing can be a nightmare, but frequent travellers have solutions for that, too.
10% use compression packing cubes, and a further 10% roll clothes instead of folding them.
9% use a multi-port wall charger to save space, while 7% bring an empty reusable water bottle through airport security to save on costs – and plastic – and 6% make sure to download entertainment on personal departures before they head on a trip.