The Philosophy Of Travel

I have never believed that travel has to mean climbing the highest peak, reaching the remotest place or spending a month somewhere few other people have been.

It can, of course.

But it can also mean slowing down. Taking the train instead of flying. Returning to the same place more than once. Spending a weekend twenty minutes from home. It might even mean exploring your local park.

For one person, travel might be a two-year expedition. For someone else, it might be a few days somewhere close by.

None is more valid than another.

After years of working in tourism, I think we sometimes make travel too competitive. We measure it by distance, difficulty, rarity or the number of countries visited, as though there is some invisible ranking system.

I don’t think there is.

What matters to me is whether a journey feels right for the person taking it. Whether it creates space to notice where you are, who lives there and how you move through that place.

That might mean something adventurous. It might also mean something very ordinary. Find the kind of travel that suits you. And be proud of your own level of travel, whatever that looks like.