Why We Travel

I have been researching why people say they travel. I’ve read some articles and I’ve asked a lot of people and it looks like there are lots of answers that intersect. In my circle there is a lot of vacation travel going on. Most of it is justified by the standard reasons listed below but I suspect that mostly we travel because it is possible, affordable, fashionable and it is an excellent way of signalling status and virtue.

These are the somewhat discrete but often intersecting reasons I found that  people say are the reasons they travel: Challenge, Learning, Expanding perspective, The smell and the feel of another place, Getting in touch with yourself, Appreciating your life, Adventure, Escaping, Strengthening relationships, Relaxing, Rejuvenating, Celebrating.

The strains of travel have been greatly reduced by modern conveniences like automobiles and interstates, cruise ships and motor coaches, luxury hotels and beautiful resorts and of course Boeing and Air Bus. I would argue that these improvements in ease of travel have also reduced many of the benefit. There is little adventure on a cruise ship and no relaxation at the Louvre. So many people can now travel that the “A list” destinations are so crowded that it is difficult to understand why people go there except to be able to cross it off their lists.

Next post I’ll look at some arguments why we should stay home.