Why Do We Travel?
“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Eliot
There’s this new thing that’s going around. You may have heard of it. It’s called social media. Social media allows us to share with friends our exact location at any given time on a multitude of platforms. We share our experiences, our surroundings and even what we’re eating for dinner with complete strangers online. It’s not a bad thing though. Social media has connected people with old friends, helped people find true love and even created a plethora of new jobs. You can practically visit a new part of the world without ever leaving your couch. Or maybe a picture isn’t good enough and you want to physically be there yourself.
With social media at our fingertips, I can tell you the best restaurants in a city I’ve never even been to. So why do we travel? To experience new cultures? Meet new people? Find ourselves? Are we traveling to experience
Millennials are the generation that travels the most. There’s no social pressure to it. They simply want to experience other cultures and have the means to do so. Through travel websites and apps, it’s easier today than ever before to be in a new place at this time tomorrow.
According to a recent study done by Robert Reitknecht, “85% of millennials say that venturing out of their comfort zones and learning new things is a priority, right behind dining (91%), fun attractions (90%) and sightseeing (88%). More than 70% of millennials worldwide believe that travel is an important part of who they are as a person. Millennials even rank travel as more important than buying a home or paying off debt (Robert Reitknecht, “Key Statistics on Millennial Travel Trends”).”
Wanting to understandwhere their family lineage comes from is another reason the younger generations are packing their bags. Revisiting some of the same places your ancestors once experienced gives you a sense of belonging in this world, which can be lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
It’s noted that millennials want a healthy understanding of the world and the multicultural universe they live in. Seeing firsthand that “there’s so much more out there” grounds and humbles them.
The truth is, millennials aren’t taking their downtime before starting careers and families for granted. They’re finding new and faster ways to save money for a trip using the internet to their advantage. And the payoff is that they are more attuned to the wonderful, diverse and expansive universe. Travel is an opportunity to appreciate life itself as a journey, whether far or near, to discover who we really are in God’s eyes.
Why do YOU travel?
Let us know why you love to travel for a chance to be featured in the War Cry by tagging us on Facebook @SAWarCry or emailing us war.cry@usn.salvationarmy.org
Robert Reitknecht: “Key Statistics on Millennial Travel Trends”
