Effects of outdoor education on traveling habits of adults in Slovakia and Hungary

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to present results of an international study are presented regarding the traveling habits of adults who participated in outdoor education programs during their childhood. Materials and methods: in the survey, 2965 Slovak and 2404 Hungarian adults were studied to determine if there is any correlation between school experience and travel behavior. In both countries, there are serious discussions as to why school education should offer and support school camps, which teach children sport skills while they are away from home. The data were processed using the Statistica program. Results: In both countries, one out of every five individuals (21.6% SK; 22.2% HU) participating in the study take a vacation in the summer months. As children, many (84.5% SK, 92% HU) of the participants took part in school water sport camps. Of these participants, 65.8% of the Slovaks and 60.2% of the Hungarians rated the time spent there as very positive. Among the positive values, 44.2% indicated that the mountains were a favourite and frequently a chosen travel destination. Twenty-five percent of the respondents spend more than four hours hiking during their vacation. Conclusions: Based on the results of our survey we can conclude that the camps in the mountains can be considered as a useful outdoor program (5-7 days), where the students can experience traveling, living together and having fun.