2020 - the year that travel forgot.

So 2020 eh? Not been much fun has it so far, I’m always one for looking on the positive side of things, but that really has been put to the test during the last year for sure. But I really do believe that there have been some core elements of this session of general misery for humanity which does lend itself to a different perspective, a dive into our personalities and our focus on what is really important to us?

As someone who has travelled the world and has made it his career to send people on journeys of discovery I do sometimes realise that over the years I’ve taken that experience for granted. Most people on earth simply don’t travel (usually based on economic boundaries) the same amount as I or many of my clients do, we are fundamentally blessed to be able to travel the world and pop away for various holidays each year. Now this article is not to make us all feel guilty about the fluke of birth and our luck in living in a wealthy country, but the reality is I’ve taken this all for granted for far too long. After a socially distant game of tennis the other day with a friend, we discussed our absolute desire to travel again, but it wasn’t discussing the 5* hotels, or the business class flights that we missed, it was the smell of spring rolls frying in Hanoi, or the fresh sea air in Camps Bay South Africa, or god forbid seeing loved ones who we’ve been constrained to viewing through a laptop zoom front door. The joy of travel which I remember feeling so blissfully was when I was about to get on a bus from my home town to go on my very first overseas adventure to France on my French exchange. Fear and excitement were equal bed fellows and all the new smells and sights were the thrilling accompaniment to the desert of seeing incredible world renowned sights like the Eifel tower and the Louvre.

Fast forward 20+ years and I’ve been to most of the places I could ever have dreamed of, but sometimes that same fear/enjoyment just hasn’t been there, and I’ve gone through the motions somewhat. Don’t get me wrong I’ve had an amazing time….it’s just that raw/exhilaration and feeling alive is difficult to recreate when you know how easy it is to do anything. But during lockdown taking away that ability to just jump on a plane/train or automobile and journey off beyond the horizon has really focused my imagination. What is it that I truly love about travel? It’s the adventure, the differences from your existence at home….the true excitement of going to the airport and looking at the board of potentially unrecognisable places and realising that in not very many hours you could be landing somewhere truly incredible? That’s what I love about travel, and its something I’m going to really try hard to hang onto as one of the few positives from lockdown, the inspiration to pick places that I truly need to go to because its exciting and challenging, not just go on another holiday because I can. I’ll be looking at taking my two daughters to places that challenge them too, so they too can try and experience the unusual and exciting and I only hope that they don’t lose sight of how lucky they are to be able to do such amazing things.

This pandemic has reminded me and hopefully yourselves too of the power of travel on our mental wellbeing, the beauty that the world around us and further afield holds and the importance of a change of scenery has on all our perspectives. So if you’ve had similar reflections or simply want to travel somewhere different for your 2021 holidays and beyond then get in touch and lets inspire each other, I truly love putting together exciting trips for my clients, almost as much as I like travelling on the same kind of journeys for myself! And if it’s a work trip then don’t just settle for another generic A to B experience, let me help to make it that little bit different and make a dull work trip something to look forward to. So as the year progresses towards 2021 and thoughts turn to hope and dreams of what the new year holds for us, lets make some new years resolutions, for health, happiness and hope for a future which excites and challenges us, be it our careers, family time or our leisure time. Let us look forward to the future and put this year behind us, look after yourselves and those around you.