How many times have you heard, "Get out of this country and see the world!"
But why? What makes international travel so fascinating that it lands on the top of travelers' bucket lists?
It's Unfamiliar
"International travel places you outside your comfortable, predictable box," said Becky Lukovic of Bella Travel, an affiliate of Travel Experts in Alpharetta, Georgia.
"The language, even when you have rudimentary skills, causes one to be more creative in communication. You have the opportunity to submerse yourself into cultures you've only read about and see them spring to life."
Jeannette Candau, the co-owner of New Jersey-based The Blue Walk, agrees.
"It's a funny thing, but one of the best things about international travel is that it can be incredibly uncomfortable or disorienting," she said. "There may be times when you don't speak the language, cannot read the signs and really don't know what is going on. These situations force you out of our comfort zone, even make you feel silly and you'll probably have to ask someone for help.
"These experiences offer opportunities to laugh, make a connection with local people and become more confident in your ability to strike out on your own. They also make for great stories to tell once you return home."
It's a New Culture
"The best thing about international travel is the fact that you get immersed in a different culture," said Kim DalPonte, owner/consultant of Pixie Dust & Paradise Travel, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois. "It's a very educational and enlightening experience to learn about that country's food, culture, language, art and history."
People are Fascinating
Elaine Carey, an affiliate of Travel Experts in Whispering Pines, North Carolina said that she's fortunate to be able to travel internationally because she gets to do just that: experience other cultures.
"In order to get the real feel of a different country, one needs to get out of the city they fly into and see the country, meet the real people of the land, eat where the locals do and watch them interact in their everyday lives," said Carey. "This is the beauty of traveling internationally."
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It Broadens Your Horizons
"We believe travel has the ability to transform the world for the better," said Corey S. Determan, Good Travels Advisor & Certified Cruise Counsellor in Jacksonville, Florida.
"It's commonly understood that travel broadens our horizons, but we know it also deepens them, hence our name. We specialize in responsible, experiential tourism. Travel with an impact."
Determan said that many of the world's social, political and environmental problems are rooted in a lack of empathy for one another.
"International travel can lead to shared experiences that build deep personal connections to the people and places we visit," he said. "Then, not only do we begin to truly understand local conditions, we begin to care about them. We have empathy, which results in an intense will to act through volunteerism, philanthropy and informed decision-making. This is the heart of responsible, experiential tourism."
Lukovic suggests approaching international travel with a curious spirit.
"The concept that people are people no matter where you go comes alive," she said. "Ideally, international travel should make us more compassionate to those who speak a different language or observe different customs. International travel opens the mind and the heart if you let it."
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