Why travel is changing from sightseeing to experiences
Why travel is changing from sightseeing to experiences
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The shift in the travel industry from sight seeing to unique experiences is well under way. Using our eyes and ears is no longer enough.
As travellers we are demanding new ways to engage with our travel destinations and we are demanding unique perspectives. Where as driving to a high mountain pass to see the view used to be enough, now we desire a cable car over the ravine, or an e-bike so we can downhill it to the next village.
In years gone by when good “international food” was hard to get in Australia, eating in local Thai restaurants could be a real adventure. Nowadays it is easier to get good (but not necessarily authentic) Thai food in any of the major Australian cities, than it is in Thailand! That little Thai restaurant on the streets of Bangkok is a lot less adventurous than it used to be, especially when they serve Pad Thai next to pepperoni pizza.
The truth is, travel has changed because cities are becoming more and more similar. Capitalism has won. Globalisation has won.
What would Napoleon have said if he had lived to see the day when the whole world was a nation of shopkeepers, not just England? He would have said, I’ll have a decaf latte and a bagel please, because his favourite beverage and snack is now readily available in just about any city in the world.
But there is something else going on. Yes globalisation is a huge force that is homogenising the world, but there is something else, and we think it is a symptom of the digital age.
I have never travelled to Paris before, but I have seen the Eiffel Tower thousands of times. I’ve seen the bottom of the ocean, I’ve even watched the sun set on earth. Our eyes and ears are constantly bombarded with the beautiful, the strange and the awesome every single day on computer and television screens. Right now, I could find hundred’s of videos of 15 year old guitarists from around the world, who are technically better guitar players than Jimi Hendrix ever was.
And these images and sounds are available to us at any time.
Have you ever been on a roller coaster? If you go three times in a row, the first time it is exhilarating, the second time it is fun and the third time is pedestrian.
In an age where we can access almost any image at any time, we are losing the ability to experience awe. The mountain scape will rarely be as striking as the air brushed photos you have seen in national geographic, so the act of merely seeing, has become oh so ho hum.
So if we can see the extraordinary at any time, how do we access that sense of awe?
Through experiences.
We are awed, not by looking at the mountain, but by the struggle to climb it. We are awed not by seeing the Jain monks on the streets of Calcutta, but by attending their week long silent retreat. Yes, you could drive the Great Ocean road, but there is more to be gained by walking the Great Ocean walk.
In a world where we have seen it all before, new perspectives in our thinking only come through the doing, through empathy and by empirical learning.
It is possible for travel to once again, be the mind opening experience it was, but only for those who choose to do, not just see.
