From sun-kissed to desk-chained: post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues

The phenomenon of post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues, which refers to the feelings of unhappiness experienced after a trip, is increasingly encountered in daily life and on social media. Despite this, the confusion over the conceptualisation and explanation of the post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues phenomenon continues. In order to explain the phenomenon, a two-stage study was conducted. In the first stage, 209,107 pieces of content shared with the ‘Post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues’ hashtags on TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, X and Facebook on social media platforms were examined, and content analysis was performed to understand and define what the concepts of post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues are. In the second stage, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 people who had experienced post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues to confirm the information obtained from social media and stated that they continued to live following their travels. The findings revealed that post-trip/vacation/holiday/travel blues were conceptualised; their antecedents, consequences and ways of getting rid of them were explained.