Motivations of Travel & Tourism

Why do people travel? What do they seek? What do they find? Do people travel because they just want to get away or is it because they find adventure and excitement. Do they seek these adventure or do they find them? Traveling for me is a little bit of everything. It is something for me to get away from everyday life but it is also where I can find new adventures, tastes, sounds, and sights to see across the world. when I travel I want to be surrounded by the culture. As Rudyard Kipling put it “The first condition of understanding a foreign county is to smell it.” Now you can put this into your own meaning but I believe this is the first thing people experience from arriving into a different country. It excites them and wants them to get out and go explore. As Rosalia de Castro said, “I see my path but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where i’m going is what inspires me to travel and hopefully most people.” People most of the times have agendas when traveling because they know what they seek – comfort, relaxation, or bonding time with their family. But other times with no agenda you will not know what you will find. For example Into the Wild and Wild follow two people who want to get away and travel. They know what they are seeking but what do they find? One finds peace and virtue in Alaska but then dies because of a poison berry he eats and the other finds strength and hope while she travels the trail up the west coast.  

Untimely, you are the one who controls the variables when you travel. “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A Shedd. You must, when traveling, get out of your comfort zone. Like in the movie The Way a man loses his son to the Santiago de Compostela. He is a stubborn old man but decides to hike it for his son. The man seemed hesitant at first and was out of his comfort zone but when taking the trip he meets great people all seeking for something different and finally finding themselves and overcoming their problems. It is because of these reasons why people are motivated to travel.