Modern Day Travel

Travel used to be a simple matter. You traveled for business or pleasure. If you traveled for pleasure, you were on vacation. For most people that meant taking their families camping or sightseeing until it was time to return home. Locations were mostly chosen because of their accessibility and convenience. Going on a holiday was like an annual ritual, often limited to a few favorite spots that became like a home away from home. Traveling abroad was mostly reserved for young daring globetrotters or privileged jet setters.

Today’s Travelers Want
Much More Than Going on Vacation

By contrast, many of today’s travelers are thrill seekers and adventurers. They want experiences. They explore the unknown and seek the exotic. Distances no longer matter. High mountain tops, deep oceans and dense jungles are the places to be now. Opulence and luxury are now considered standard fare even in the remotest corners of the world.

When you look at travel magazines or travel-related TV shows these days, you can easily identify this trend. What is mostly being advertised are not the destinations themselves but rather what they have to offer in terms of amenities. Cruises, for example, are no longer about sea travel or places that can best be reached by ship. The vessels themselves are the destination. Many of them are floating amusement parks and shopping malls.

Wilderness expeditions and safaris are no longer meant for exploration and discovery but to allow visitors a brief glimpse of the “wild” (or whatever is left of it) from a safe distance and without deprivation of all the creature comforts. Even trips to the Himalayas or Antarctica require now so little physical stamina that seniors often make up the majority of participants. Spas and resorts spring up in far-flung places, featuring golf courses and landing strips for private jets where there were still white spots on the map only a few decades ago.

Being a member of the senior travelers crowd myself, I’m naturally not altogether opposed to the new travel opportunities. On the other hand, there is something missing in the experience when most destinations look more and more the same. When I travel, I do expect to be challenged in my views and expectations. I do appreciate the diversity of cultures, customs and tastes and I want to experience the real thing, not some touristy version. That is part of the fun and it is also educational. If it all ends up looking the same, I might as well stay at home.

The travel industry has already taken notice of this desire (you may say market) for more authentic experiences of other cultures. There are now a number of “alternative” vacation itineraries available that resemble somewhat programs conducted by the Peace Corps. For example, teaching- and construction projects in Africa and South America are quite popular as vacation activities with retired professionals, like doctors, teachers or engineers. These engaging vacation projects often produce some of the most rewarding experiences one can have. Applying one’s skills and knowledge to help others in need can turn strangers into friends like nothing else.

Another increasingly popular idea are cooking classes conducted in Italy and France, but also in India and Thailand. The idea of preparing and sharing meals with others in every corner of the world intrigues me enough to make me want to pack my bags and hop on the next plane. Unlike what you see on TV, culinary exploration doesn’t mean you have to consume undesirable animal parts, endure unbearably hot spices or swallow still-living insects in order to educate your palate. Learning to cook in a foreign country is primarily about interacting with the locals and appreciating their lifestyles. If it’s true that “we are what we eat,” this can be a perfect opportunity to come to know each other better. And if the world is becoming more “flat,” as we’re told, it gets nowhere flatter than on a plate. Let’s make good use of that. Salute! Enjoy! Bon appetite! Zum Wohlsein…!

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