A relatively small investment in travel now yields major returns for the rest of your life—here’s how your travel dollars can benefit your life and the world around you!
If you’re planning a trip, one of the first things to figure out is how much money you can spend. And whether you’re planning a big budget round the world trip, or a road trip on a budget, you’re investing in an amazing experience. Beyond just the time between departure and landing, though, your travel dollars fund more than just one vacation. Every penny you spend on travel is an investment in yourself, and an investment in the world around you.
To start with, traveling expands your social connections to people you never would have met if you stayed in your comfort zone—especially if your travel experience is immersive. Connecting to other cultures gives you a more well rounded perspective on the world, and that perspective can positively impact every area of your life.
Travel has some pretty amazing health benefits, too. Even before you go on your trip, thinking about it and planning for it improves your overall mood. Active travel strengthen your hearts, lungs, and cardiovascular system while doing everything from adventure travel activities like hiking Machu Picchu to urban escapes walking city blocks. Creating a work/life balance through travel helps lower your stress, and a lifetime of lower stress reduces your risks for stroke, diabetes, depression, and Alzheimer's. And—while it might not feel like it when the person next to you on the plane sneezes—the diversity of germs you encounter traveling actually boosts your immune system long-term!
While you grow with travel, you’re also improving the world around you (especially if you follow ethical travel practices). You’re helping to create jobs—one in 10 jobs on the planet is in the travel and tourism industry! If you buy local, your money is also rippling through out the local economy.
So when your spending money on travel, keep in mind that you’re buying more than plane tickets, Airbnb rentals, and meals: you’re investing in an expanded worldview, friendships with new people, a healthier life, a happier life, and—maybe most importantly—a better world.
Find out more about how travel can lead to self-discovery in Find Your Unknown.
Related Links (from Eagle Creek blog):
Unknown Found: Broken and Rebuilt on the Trek to Annapurna
Unknown Found: How Scuba Diving in Japan Turned Me into an Environmentalist
Unknown Found: I Discovered A Different Culture On A Desert Safari In Jordan
