As a child I was enamoured by travelogues, something that has stayed with me to this day. I could so do “Getaway”.
The idea of far off lands and the mystique of exotic destinations fueled my imagination. That imagination helped me travel as a child and fostered the interest that eventually led me to the travel industry.
Yet somewhere along the way I lost the enchantment I had, with the act of travel and the destinations of my imagination. How? If I think hard enough, I can pinpoint a few events and time periods that helped fade my visions.
The first jumbos of the 70s were a sight to behold. Nearly 500 people careening across the skies, heading to destinations, that hadn’t seen that many people, in a year. The world sure filled up with travellers and then Freddy Laker decided to make it available to everyone. The 80s saw the largest global population growth of any decade in history and hotels became the mushrooms of the travel forest. To cater to the new herds of travellers, they sprang up everywhere I wanted to go. What was left to discover?
This was when I found out, I was a travel snob. I only wanted the exotic and mysterious destinations to myself and maybe a select gathering of friends. I didn’t want to share what I had seen in my imagination with anyone. I felt it had all been taken away from me and commoditised and sold to the lowest denominator.
Where is this rambling heading? This rant is to assuage my feelings on the loss of innocence associated with my imaginary travels. Like most travellers today, my concerns surround seat allocation, airport timings and logistics, processes and technologies to enable results and destinational success. It’s hard to slow down when aircraft and technology only want to go faster. How do I throw away my iPhone or give back my lounge access?
What to do?
Slowdown and appreciate where all the above technology can take me? Re engage my imagination so that travel becomes more meaningful and less a commodity? Think about, when as a child, even space travel seemed possible.
Somehow Richard Branson got there first.
Is there is nothing left to imagine!
1 comment:
Oh boy can I ever relate to this posting! I don't think the problem is just that "everyone" can go to those places, it's also the logistics you mention. It's all boiled down to no joy in the process anymore. By the time you get to where you are going, you are worn down by the process (getting to the airport, checking in on time, going through security, endless queues...). Or at least I am. Mind you , some places are worth the aggravation. Like Africa! That still rings my bell absolutely. But otherwise, the joy of actually getting to where you are going is gone and will probably never return again. Ever notice that airports are not happy places anymore? Everyone looks stressed and worried. Security issues, on time performance, seat assignment, the list goes on. Gee, I think I'm depressing myself!
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