When you travel do it with passion.
“Focus on experiences that fuel your passion,” then select a destination where they are available. American Cruise Lines offers plenty of experiences.
Amanda Syrowatka, a travel expert and director of the Viceroy Bali resort in Indonesia, suggests to people who are planning a vacation that they “focus on experiences that fuel your passion,” then select a destination where they are available.
Richard Burgon, who provides advice and assistance about recreational vehicles on his rovinrv.com website, prefers journeys based primarily upon his personal interests rather than specific locations.
These savvy sightseers are describing the use of travel as a means of self-expression and self-discovery.
In recent years, this type of tourism has come to be known as “passion travel,” and has attracted a constantly growing number of fans and participants.
According to a recent survey by thrillist.com, which bills itself as “the go-to digital media publication for passion-led travel,” 77 percent of members of the Gen Z and Millennial generations identified with the concept of passion travel. The subjects of interest for these narrowly focused trips varied.
Food, history and music ranked highest among all of those who responded to the survey questions but the answers varied by age group. While 73 percent of Gen Z’ers said they would consider planning a trip around culinary experiences, just 49 percent of Boomers agreed. A total of 43 percent of Millennials might plan a vacation based upon a favorite movie or TV show, but only 25 percent of Millennials agreed with that.
The ultimate example of music-oriented passion travel was related to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour
Probably the ultimate example of music-oriented passion travel was related to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which lasted from March 2023 to December 2024, and encompassed 149 shows across five continents. The concerts served as a retrospective of all of Swift’s studio albums, ran for close to four hours and became the highest income-grossing tour of all time. Millions of “Swifties,” as her fans are known, centered travel plans to coincide with one or more of the concerts.
A devoted fan of Bruce Springsteen whom I know, who lives in New York City, has traveled to New Jersey, Philadelphia, Austin, Montreal, Copenhagen and Florence, Italy to attend concerts by his favorite entertainer.
Some passion pioneers like to share their interest with others.
Beverly Ugwu, a London-based TikToker, has gained millions of views on her "Is It Worth the Wait?" series which explores London's sometimes overhyped restaurants. Rhianna Taylor’s TikTok presentations give viewers a rundown on the pricing, cleanliness and other attributes of “Unique Hotels You've Probably Never Heard Of.”
Not surprisingly, this type of travel offers a variety of potential benefits and learning experiences to those willing to give it a try.
Your curiosity is aroused. Temporarily leaving your everyday life behind, you enter a new environment to be explored. You learn how people in other places live, why they follow various customs and other fascinating facts about their ways.
Enjoy life in the slow lane and experience more.
People who frantically try to take in the entire Louvre in a single day, or several European countries in two weeks, are likely to return home exhausted and stressed. Slowing down the pace actually allows you to experience, and appreciate, more.
If things go wrong, focus on what you can control.
You can’t change a missed flight or closed museum, but you can control your reaction to bad news. Will you become anxious and annoyed, or realize that it’s best to focus on what you can do to improve the situation – or, if you can’t, how to accept it.
You may learn, or increase your ability, to notice and appreciate beauty in small, everyday occurrences that we might overlook and ignore where we live. That might include the rustle of leaves on a lawn in autumn, or the calls of a song bird in the morning. I recall my reaction to the first time I enjoyed the scent of fresh-baked bread wafting out of a neighborhood bakery in a small town in France.
Discover new passions you’d like to check out when you return home.
After loving a 12-passenger barge trip that I took through canals in France, I signed up for American Cruise Lines boat voyages along picturesque rivers in the United States. Following my inspection of the Gardens of Versailles, which French King Louis XIV ordered to be created in 1661, I visited several world-class plantings located not far from where I live.
These are examples of passion travel that I experienced overseas, and continue to enjoy in the United States. You might wish to keep this in mind as you plan your next trip.
WHEN YOU GO
Many travel agents can plan a trip based upon a client’s passions and preferences.
Victor Block retains the travel bug after gallivanting throughout the United States and to more than 75 other countries worldwide and writing about what he sees, does, and learns. He believes travel is the best possible education and claims he still has much to learn. He loves to explore new destinations and cultures, and his stories about them have won many writing awards.
