What kind of traveler are you? In her book, Overbooked, the Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism (heard on a radio interview) Elizabeth Becker breaks our travel into 3 categories: Consumer, Culture and Nature. Consumers are those that go travel to purchase things. An example of this would be the women in my church that go on retreat and include shopping as part of the experience. Cultural travelers are those that go to experience and learn from different people groups.
As a rule I don’t purchase gifts and memorabilia when I travel. I enjoy learning about other people and other traditions. Most I enjoy hearing individual’s stories. Thinking about it my focus in travel isn’t extremely different from the way I am at home.
I am primarily a nature traveler. I seek to see the countryside and hope for some wildlife to wander into view. Most of all though I seek travel and vacations as week long Sabbaths to regain insight and refresh my soul.
It seems the question to ask ourselves in our travelling is; Why? What is our goal in going? How does it fit into the broader story we are writing for our life? In that regard our travel should flow from who we are and what we desire to have written in our eulogy. Is my vacation an escape from the rest of my life? Travel should be an experience that stimulates and integrates perspective so that we may more deeply live life upon returning home.
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