I can usually tell a fair amount about the mood of the moment from how people travel, and there seems to have been a shift in how and when many of us are planning our trips.
We’ve seen a growing trend of clients getting in touch within days of returning from a trip to Asia (and, occasionally, even whilst still on holiday), raring to go with plans for their next adventures. Whilst it’s extremely gratifying to know that people return to us again and again, and that we’ve delivered, and perhaps surpassed, expectations, this development has made me wonder: do many of us now spend precious time on our much-longed-for trips planning our next ones? If so, are we really embracing the moment in the places we’re visiting?
Our busy lives don’t always allow for the ideal circumstances, and the spare time we have is increasingly squeezed. It can seem like we’re constantly running to catch up with ourselves and tripping over our own feet. Ironically, perhaps many of us now need to be on holiday in order to have the time and headspace to plan a holiday.
I’ll be making a trip later this year that (without giving too much away just yet!) will definitely be taking me a little beyond the ordinary, and plenty out of my comfort zone, and I can see how my focus on the logistics has ebbed and flowed in conjunction with how busy my life has been. Much of the planning, both the nitty-gritty and the daydreaming (the best bit!) has only occurred while I’ve been away from my daily routine.
That urge to leap ahead is completely understandable for positive reasons, too. I know how much eagerness to get the next adventure in the diary immediately comes from the inspiration that travel gives us; from speaking to new people, hearing about the places they’ve been, and feeling energised to see more of Asia as soon as possible.
Can we hold onto that energy and momentum for the next adventure, but press pause for long enough to ensure we can immerse ourselves in the here and now?
Travelling through Asia, whether hiking in rural Rajasthan or sailing between Indonesian islands, is life-affirming, and worth every moment, but it needn’t always be these spectacular highlights that allow us to reset and find that headspace. Can we recreate a little of that holiday mindset within the everyday?
Read the full article on Selective Asia’s website for more of Nick’s thoughts on balancing our enthusiasm to keep looking ahead and immersing ourselves in those much-longed-for travel moments.