A Lot to Unpack
There is an Instagram travel mob that has it out for you, you leisure traveler. Have you heard?
They are filling up your feeds with off-the-beaten-path adventures to let you know that their trip is so much cooler than the one you are planning. No lines, no crowds, lots of undiscovered meadows of flowers and sunsets. Where are they exactly?
All Aboard
The technological advancements of the 18th and 19th centuries—locomotives and airplanes, respectively—gave birth to what we know as leisure travel today. A time when the impetus to travel was to bear witness to the new technology and take part in this new frontier—the great social experiment of mass tourism.
It took both courage and acute curiosity to board those early planes. Made of uninsulated metal sheets surrounding an unpressurized cabin, these were cold, loud, slow flights that shook you all flight long. Yet, I cannot imagine the excitement of being the first person in your family, your neighborhood, or even your town to take one of these voyages.
Fast forward to the latter half of the 20th century through to today: once we took the adventure out of getting where we were going, we turned our attention to where we were going itself.
In the ensuing decades, the big attractions, from Disney World and Niagara Falls to Egypt’s Great Pyramids and China’s Great Wall, have been visited by hundreds of millions of people. Countless magazine features and television documentaries have covered them, and social media has allowed us to see millions of firsthand reports, from travelers like us, every day.
Something Newer
The popular tours to Antarctica of late are just one example of both the travel industry and the consumer searching for a new frontier. Now we have group tours to Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, long shrouded in mystery and still closed to mass tourism. Only certified pilots can access this particularly challenging remote airport, and special visas and invitations are required. In the past week, North Korea, an extremely poor and isolated country, reported it will be opening their country to more tourism (although only about 20% of the country will be in the “tourist zone”). And while it is not yet ready for mass tourism, people currently alive will most likely live long enough to have the opportunity to vacation in space.
Leaving space travel behind for now, I have no doubt that tours to North Korea and Bhutan will only garner more attention as the next IT trip to take, with influencers we follow to be first in line. Certainly, they will present their reels, stories and vlogs to tell us this is where we must go next.
Looking for the new next can be thrilling, whether it is in travel or in some other area of our lives—technology, fitness, education, etc. And for those travelers who are ready for the next frontier, let’s talk! And for everyone else, my advice - go your own way and make a tried and true destination all your own.
One and Done
On my 20th trip to Paris in 2018, I decided it was time to go to the top of the Eiffel tower. Despite having experienced the tower in all her glory at sunrise and sunsets, from rooftops and balconies, I had never made the trip up. My fellow road warriors were baffled I would waste a minute riding perhaps the biggest tourist attraction in the world. After all, that trek to the top has been done.
So, on a gloomy, drizzly, windy day, I headed over, thinking there would not be much of a line. I was right, and off I went, up the long elevator and into the clouds, passing Monsieur Gustave Eiffel’s office featuring his wax figurine in the window. The rain and wind made it untenable to be up there long, and with the clouds, I couldn’t see much. Within minutes of my arrival at the observation deck, it had to be closed, as the weather conditions were worsening. It was fine with me, box checked, nothing to see here.
The Director and Cast
I share this story because as road warriors and industry insiders continue to unearth travel destinations, all of us—newbies and experienced travelers alike—need to remember that it is not the destination alone that defines the journey. You and your travel companions are the cast. Your life experiences, your relationships with each other, your expectations for the trip provide the direction. Much like an art masterpiece exists to be seen, the journey exists to be taken. The remarkable characteristics that define you at the moment will make that trip one-of-a-kind. Yes, the itinerary can be repeated, but who you were at that moment cannot be.
Leisure travel is your private time. It is, at its base, travel at your leisure. If you want to blaze your own trail, go for it! Or if you want to see Big Ben, throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, or even take that ride up to the top of the Eiffel Tour, go for that as well. Either way, I’m all for it.
Travel well my friends,
Dayla