I recently sent out a tweet last week asking if you could go anywhere in the world where would you go with cost not being a factor? Between the tweet and just talking to people for many years, some of the same destinations keep popping up. Then I realized that the question in itself isn’t complete or thorough enough. There are factors that I didn’t think would be important, and some of the answers were very eye-opening.
So, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? According to Lonely Planet, the top destinations for 2020 are Bhutan, England, North Macedonia, Aruba, Swaziland, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Liberia, Morocco, and Uruguay. In my findings, people wanted a beach. Aruba, Hawaii, Fiji, and Jamaica are all top contenders. Then you have your outliers with random locals like Branson, Missouri, and Novosibirsk, Russia. I know, I have some strange friends, but it keeps things interesting.
Picking a traveling destination comes down to two questions. One is very straight forward, and one requires you to do some introspection, but they are dependent upon each other.
- What age are you? (easy: X years old)
- What are you trying to accomplish with your travels? (Some possibilities include getting in touch with yourself, appreciating your life, building and strengthening relationships, challenging yourself, learning, expanding your perspective, having an adventure, escaping and relaxing and rejuvenating).
Age
This information is not likely to surprise you, but your age is expected to determine your travel style. When your younger, flying somewhere and staying with a friend’s brothers, cousins, aunt is plausible and not even considered crazy. Someone like me, who we will say is a tad older, wouldn’t want to impose on someone who I don’t even know, and besides, they could be an ax murderer. NOT my cup of tea, let’s say.
People who would be considered Generation Z or anyone born in 1996 or after, are the most adventurous age group. Generation Z travelers are more likely to pick an international destination and be happy to choose alternative accommodations. From a home share, campsite, or a couch in the above said ax murderer’s living room; all options are open. The reasoning behind this is simple. They have less money to spend, so they will make arrangements and cut corners where they can to save the trip budget. This is also the age group that is looking for the ever-important adventure and experiences to post to their blog post, which has 175,000 followers, unlike JaysAcornBlog, but we are on the board!
Millennials, age 26 to 37 are typically looking for the bang for their buck. They are more established and do have funds to spend on the getaway. All-inclusive vacations would fit this criteria. This group doesn’t have to plan anything, and most likely, they will spend their time outside enjoying the scenery. Friend’s recommendations and advertisements also impact this group.
Generation X, or ages 38 to 57, travel the least out of all the age groups. This group is usually looking for a good deal, mainly because these are family vacations with kids. Just think of Chevy Chase in the classic movie, Vacation (Let’s pack up the Family Truckster and hit the open road). This group is less likely to succumb to the marketers and advertisers when choosing a vacation destination, and they will spend the bulk of their money on hotel accommodations. This group also reads reviews and will look on the internet for some quality research before making the final booking.
Now let’s look at the Baby Boomers. This group has the most money to spend on their vacations, and so the options are wide open. This group travels mostly to visit friends or family and often have a destination in mind before they even begin planning a trip. This group is the most resistant to advertising but will pay more for the upgrades in accommodation or travel class.
Why do you want to travel?
You can go to the internet or read countless books on why people travel, but one of the best complete articles about this is 10 Powerful Reasons Why People Love to Travel. Here are just a few reasons why.
Getting in touch: Have you ever noticed that in everyone’s hectic lifestyle, you are merely running on autopilot. Days morph into months, and before you know it, a year has vanished. Where did it go? What did you do for the last 12 months? The bad thing is many people look back on their life and the previous ten years were like that, simply gone and not even a memory of something special. You’re not living; you’re existing. Most likely, you will end up becoming a person who feels guilty, sad, depressed, stressed, and unhappy without realizing that there is something different. This is where a vacation is excellent just to reset yourself. Disrupt your life only for a week and watch yourself come back to the land of the living.
Building and strengthening relationships: What is your primary motivationas a family? For many, the feeling of togetherness or being unified as a family is the desired result. Traveling together can keep the family relationships healthy. Again, by only breaking up the daily routine and taking a break from schedules, you can connect sufficiently with family members.
Challenging: When you travel, most of the time, it’s a very comfortable experience just taking it easy on a beach somewhere. Now let’s throw that idea out the window and pick a challenge and follow through with it. The good thing about doing this is you have a drop-dead date (not literally….I hope), so your time frame for your challenge is set. Now pick your destination. It could be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or as easy as hiking the Appalachian Trail. Ok, now that is not that easy, but you get the idea. Traveling gets you out of your comfort zone, and hopefully, you will learn something new about the world and yourself.
Learning: Learning is a strong reason why people love to travel. They want to experience something unfamiliar and leave with new skills or knowledge.
Seeing the world is more educational than a high school or college class. This condensed crash course in discovering how the rest of the world lives actually will cover subjects like history, geography, and sociology. Every destination has something unique to teach visitors, and immersing themselves in a completely different world is the best learning experience.
People may travel to learn something specific: a new language, a fresh cuisine, aspects of a different culture, or a deeper appreciation of faith or spirituality. As a bonus, they’ll take away more than their specific goal. They’ll discover different ways of doing things. They’ll also gain awareness of new customs, cultures, people, and places. Because you’re experiencing this learning in real life, not reading it in a textbook, it will stay with you for a long time. You’ll gain a deep sense of satisfaction with the new skills you’ve learned, and new insights you’ve earned.
Adventure: Having an adventure when traveling can be very exhilarating and another reason we all love to travel. Most people like new experiences. Especially things that you can’t do at home very readily. It starts the minute you land in a new place. Conquering that vacation could be trying spicy Thai street food or conversing in Madrid with your rusty high school Spanish. Or it could be a real experience, like scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef or hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. You’ll have lots of fun and will revel in the rush you get from your exploits. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and return home with the best souvenir of all, a memory of your incredible adventure.
Escaping: You might have just finished up with a bad relationship, a demanding job, the loss of a loved one, or any other reason. Traveling is your eject button from life for when you want to take a step back. Just like Elizabeth in Eat, Pray, Love, travel can be a great relief from the stress and unhappiness that come along in life’s bumpy road.
People like to experience things that are different from home: better weather, beautiful scenery, or the possibility of doing whatever, whenever you want. Reading a great book, looking at world-class art, or just doing nothing but relaxing, is in itself, a great escape.
Travel is particularly helpful for workaholics who have trouble leaving their job behind. Stepping away from the workplace is right for you, both mentally and physically. When you return to the post, you’ll have had the space to look at issues with fresh eyes. Travel has the power to let you not only escape but also heal. A new place with lots of fun distractions can work wonders. You’ll return home more at peace with yourself and your challenging situations.
Relaxing: Now, many wouldn’t consider travelingrelaxing or rejuvenating, but that’s up to you. A trip can be as simple as a two-hour drive up to the mountains, ocean, or anywhere in between. You can make it as easy or difficult as you like, but the choice is in your hands. Now its time to practice and enjoy your time away, no matter what the reason is.
In the Comments section below, tell me where you would like to visit and the reasoning behind the trip. Have fun and I will see you down the road.
My favorite trips are historic learning adventures, Cambodia, Turkey, Israel, Vietnam, etc.
Thanks for the response. It sound’s like I’m like you with the historic learning adventures. Sitting on a beach just doesn’t recharge me like learning and being active.