[Vol.91] What does TRAVEL mean to you

 The travel reality show ‘Adventure by Accident 3(태어난 김에 세계일주3)’ ended with great popularity following seasons 1 and 2. The program is about traveling to Madagascar in Africa to search for wilderness and happiness in the mysterious land that holds primitive nature. Many people laughed and were moved by their travelogs, which contained local culture and communication such as enjoying dancing with locals.

Plus, Travel channels on YouTube have continued to rise recently. Pani Bottle, a popular travel YouTuber in Korea, has 2.08 million channel subscribers and Kwak Tube, another YouTuber, has 1.83 million channel subscribers. Along with the popularity of travel online, the actual number of people who travel is also on the rise. The number of overseas travelers, which fell to 1 million during the COVID-19 pandemic, has risen steeply since the end of the pandemic, recovering to 80% by 2019. According to the Korea Tourism Data Lab, the number of people who traveled abroad last year was about 23 million, up 246.6% from the previous year. With this trend, travel is anticipated to remain popular among people. Then, what does travel mean to people?

Travel & Travel Trends
 

Travel has a definition of going to other regions or foreign countries for work or pleasure. The origin of the word ‘Travel’ is ‘Travail’, which means pain and hardship. It is difficult to accept this meaning easily, so let’s go back to the past. In the past, there were no well-built roads or fast transportation like now. Therefore, leaving somewhere required the courage to sacrifice one’s life and take risks. However, in the 19th century, when transportation developed, its meaning changed. Traveling somewhere has become a romantic and happy thing, not pain. On January 1st, 1989, Korea fully liberalized overseas travel, and travel agencies launched various travel packages. In the 1990s, travel slogans such as ‘Youth, Leave no matter what’ and ‘00 is one of the world’s must-see cities before you die’ became popular. College students traveled around the world on vacation, filling their stomachs with baguette bread. Since then, when the five-day work week was implemented, packages of short trips to nearby countries have become popular among office workers.
 

Then, how about the latest travel trends? Let’s take a look at the 2024 Travel Trend Report released by global companies.

# Alter Ego Enthusiasts #
Booking.com, which is one of the largest online travel agencies, announced seven travel trends for 2024 by comprehensively analyzing the results of a survey of 27,000 travelers from 33 countries around the world. One of them is the Alteration Ego Enthusiasts. It is to enjoy making an alternate character that looks different from the usual at the travel destination. 70% of Korean respondents said that they enjoy discovering new looks rather than their usual looks through the anonymity of travel. Even if people pay more than usual, they are satisfied by making the best looks and taking the best shots.

# Screen Tourism ‘Set-jetting’ #
Also, Expedia announced travel trends for 2024, including Set-jetting. Set-jetting is the trend of traveling to destinations that were the filming locations of movies. With <Squid Game>, the number of Britons looking for airline tickets to Korea has soared by more than 50%.As the <The First Slam Dunk> became popular, more than 2 million tourists visited Kamakura, Japan. More than half of the global travelers who answered the Hotels.com’s survey said that they had experience researching or booking related travel destinations after watching TV programs or films.

# Work + Travel, Bleisure and Workcation #
Bleisure is a type of travel that combines Business and Leisure. According to global hotel company Hilton, many of the world’s office workers are planning a trip linking business and leisure. A typical example is Workcation (created by combining the words work and vacation) which means working in a usual mode while traveling long-term. Local governments such as Gyeongbuk and Sokcho are also increasing their support for Workcation, expecting it leads to local production effects. These can be seen as reflecting the socio- cultural atmosphere that pursues work-life balances in the travel trends.

# Sustainable Tourism #
Today, consumers feel more responsible than just seeing the world through travel destinations. In CNN's survey, 84% of viewers were interested in Sustainable Tourism, and nearly half were planning Sustainable Tourism within the next six months. Sustainable Tourism refers to travel that meets the needs of visitors and local communities and considers the current and future economic, social and environmental impacts. It not only prevents environmental destruction in transportation and tools, but also respects the local culture such as expressing appreciation in the local language.

As such, unlike in the past, recent travel has many types respecting each individual’s taste. Beyond the purpose of simple sightseeing, we travel for several reasons including rest, finding ourselves, discovering what I like, the balance of my life and so on. That is, Travel has its own reasons. And the meaning and value of travel will remain in people’s minds for a long time. The act of travel has a message for each person, and we discover it , read it, think deeply, and be happy through it all.

The Reasons For Travel

Why do we travel? I interviewed INDIGO reporters about what travel means to them.

Harin) I usually think about travel when I’m stressed. I can relieve my stress by doing what I want to do without worrying about anything through travel. So I think about traveling when my real life is too stressful.
Meg) I usually tralve to have new experiences in new places. I think I need a new experience because I’m only on campus throughout the semester. That's why I often travel during vacation.
Sophia) I think of traveling when I need a break, when I feel that my daily life is so repetitive. I travel to see new things and try different foods at the destination.
Luna) I think the purpose of traveling is to make memories and have a good time with the people I go with. I usually plan to travel on vacation or special days!

Gina) The reason why I travel is to get a new experience. I have a curiosity about a new place, and I want to learn from it.
Ellen) As I became a sophomore, I adjusted to college life and made some comfortable friends. So I think I want to travel to new places. I want to get a new feeling out of my routine. Also, I want to go abroad to improve my language skills.

Harin) When I planned the trip, it was a little troublesome due to my personality. But when I arrived at the destination, it was fun and happy even if the schedule didn't have to be planned. Especially, when I suddenly got rained on in Guam during my last vacation, I remember that I was soaked with rain, but I was so happy!
Meg) The most memorable experience is the conversation I had with my friends/family at the end of the day, rather than a nice place and delicious food. I think the conversation I had looking back on what happened today, talking plainly about what was upsetting to each other, and looking forward to tomorrow was the best.
Sophia) Just planning a trip is exciting and anticipated. I decided to travel when I was utterly tired. Only thinking about travel made me feel more comfortable!
Luna) I found out that even in the same travel destination, I can get different feelings depending on the person I go with!
Gina) My memorable emotion is quietness. When I leave a noisy daily space, I feel a quiet and calm feeling coming into my heart.

Ellen) I really like the feeling of the boundary, which seems familiar and unfamiliar. I remember the unfamiliar space that I could only feel in travel when I return to my daily life.

Harin) I want to travel more often. I think I look forward to my trip, thinking about feelings such as joy and freedom from the trip and episodes from the trip.
Meg) I developed self-confidence after the trip. I gained trust/favor of myself and took heart from the process of finding destinations, speaking to people from other countries, and solving problems.
Sophia) After the trip, I feel sad that the fun time is over, but I think I can get more vitality. It was okay to do a repeated routine after a long time.
Luna) When I enjoyed traveling without any worries and returned to my daily life, it was hard at first. But I was able to enjoy each day while imagining my next trip!
Gina) I feel more faithful to my daily life. Travel is temporary, but daily life is permanent, so I have a mindset to enjoy my daily life.
Ellen) It’s a fascinating experience to face my daily life with a little excitement. I went to Gangwon-do, which is not easy to go to in my hometown of Suncheon. With good memories of meeting new people in a new space, I felt a little more relaxed when dealing with people. Now I know that the knowledge and growth of travel can be greater than the value of time and money.

Harin) I think travel is similar to ‘the capacity arrangement of a smartphone’. I throw away what I want to throw away, and leave what I want to leave, and I organize my own capacity. It’s like ‘travel’ to fill the empty
space again. I think we can live a better life through travel, just like smartphones that need to be organized to keep using it.
Meg) My definition of travel is the ‘motive power’. It takes a lot of money and time to travel, but I’m so happy with the memories of traveling and I think it supports me. So, I usually think about travel, and I tend to save money or live hard, so I defined travel as ‘motive power’.
Sophia) My definition of travel is ‘break time’. Whether I’m with someone or alone, the thing I’m always happy about is ‘break time’. For me, I think travel is a time to play before the next class and a break to fall asleep.
Luna) Travel is a ‘diary’. If I look at someone’s diary, I can see what that person is like. Like this, if I look at someone’s travel style & definition, I can see what that person is like!
Gina) Travel is the ‘realization of the ideal’. I actually visit a place I’ve only dreamed of, and I feel a sense of separation between reality and ideal. However, it has its own learning and helps I live with reality by having a new mindset.
Ellen) It's ‘new’. I don’t easily feel comfortable when traveling. So, unfamiliar and exciting feelings occurred at the same time, and I couldn’t erase the thought of wanting to rest at home. But traveling with such novelty is something that cannot be easily obtained from familiarity, so I make a conscious effort not to regret it at that moment.

As such, the purpose or reason for travel, and the experiences and changes encountered in the process of the travel are different, so they cannot be defined in one word. If only a tiny shimmer happened to each one, that’s enough. Author Kim Young-ha reflects on travel through his essay <Reasons for Travel>.

“Travel takes us to the present, from the past that has already passed and the future that has not yet come,” he says in the book. (여행은 우리를 이미 지나가버린 과거와 아직 오지 않은 미래로부터 끌어내 현재로 데려다놓는다.; p.82)

Travel leads us to focus only on the present, away from regretting the past and worrying about the future. The moments I faced while focusing on the present piled up one by one and engraved my meaning now.

“Travel is disappointed by the reality that is different from expectations, but instead I get something I dont even think about, and it subtly changes the course of my life, and after a long time, I think of the memories and wavelengths of motion I experienced a long time ago, and then suddenly I know a little more about myself.” (여행은 기대와는 다른 현실에 실망하고, 대신 생각지도 않던 것을 얻고 그로 인해 인생의 행로가 미묘하게 달라지고 한참의 세월이 지나 오래 전에 겪은 멀미의 기억과 파장을 떠올리고 그 러다 문득 자신이 어떤 사람인지 조금 더 알게 되는 것이다.; p.51).

It’s okay if it’s different from the plan. Sometimes it’s discouraging, but it’s even good. Isn’t it travel that flows along the path that doesn’t go as I expect? Travel is inseparable from our lives, and whatever the beginning and process, the end takes our lives to the next level. People have different ways and attitudes toward travel. Someone travels to get a lot of new experiences, while someone travels to throw off the heaviness that was holding them down. In the process, you may be full of enthusiasm or an unknown sense of despair. By sharing experiences with your partner, you get close or one step away from him or her. Whether this or that, what does it matter? Just that what I do is worthwhile travel.