7 Reasons to be Thankful for Travel

When the tornado of life is in full swing I like to step back, slow down and reflect on all the things I am grateful for.

Travel will always be near the top of my list. It has been the catalyst for many big changes in my life, at every stage.

The most profound of these changes would of course be the fact that when I traveled to Europe many years ago, for work, I ended up meeting my future American husband. Happily married for 14 years and 2 kids later, we have traveled the world for both work and play, with and without kids, experiencing everything that travel has to offer.

I am beyond grateful for all that travel has given our family and here are my top 7 reasons why:

It helps us to bond

Travel brings us closer together and helps us bond. When we step outside of the daily grind of life and into the unknown, something fantastic happens. We really engage each other and experience new sights, sounds and smells together, as a family. There is no better bond than the travel bond.

It gives us greater understanding

Travel helps us understand the world better. We get to experience new cultures and interesting people. We love to be immersed in the local ways of living and I get such joy out of watching my kids interact with their peers who often don’t even speak the same language. Somehow, there is just a mutual understanding of play, and a friendly smile is such a warm welcome no matter where you are in the world.

We try new food and drinks

My son can be such a picky eater but, as the years have gone by, I have discovered, through travel, that he is only picky for good food! He loves to try fresh, local dishes and devours them.

It has made me have to experiment with cooking some very different food at home where we all get involved in the planning, shopping and cooking for another bonding experience, created from traveling.

I am so thankful that my kids are always open to trying new foods and truly do not think they would be this way if they had not had the opportunity to taste different foods, around the world.

We connect with foreign relatives

Being born to a British Mother and Czech Father, we have relatives all over the world. Travel allows us to connect with them, often meeting up in their countries, or somewhere in the middle.

The world is vast

Travel really makes us appreciate how vast the world is. We get to experience different environments and extremes of weather and see first-hand the impact we can have on the world. My kids are a lot more conscious of protecting this beautiful planet and for that I am grateful!

We get to help people from all over the world

According to the UNWTO there are over 1 billion tourists traveling each year and that number just keeps rising. If we all travel in a responsible way we could really help the world become a better place. Travel employs more people than almost any other industry (I am just one employee!)

There are millions of people involved in the travel industry somehow or other. That’s a lot of jobs! So, if we all travel sustainably and responsibly, such as staying in environmentally friendly properties or participating in tours that employ locals, we could make real positive change for our planet and it’s inhabitants.