The Desire to See and Do More
Authors:
Kimberly
Rhodus, Graduate Student
Michael
J. Bradley, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Department
of Recreation and Park Administration
Eastern
Kentucky University
www.recreation.eku.edu
The Desire to See and Do More
Travel has always been
a part of human lives, even in ancient times, people traveled. Travel
began when people were looking for a better life. They would move
from place to place looking for a better way of living. Soon, travel
became a necessity for life with
transporting and trading of goods. As
transportation improved, the number of travelers increased. Pilgrimages to holy sites became common
during the Middle Ages. Later, those
seeking adventure or business began to make voyages of hundreds or thousands of
miles, and after a time even the idea of traveling just for pleasure became accepted.
For those with sufficient time and wealth, traveling provided a
diversion (Travel and Leisure, n.d.).
The internet soon became the place to go to for most
travel needs and ideas, and as such, traveling
started to become more accessible and
more affordable. With a significant number
of travel services online, this made traveling more obtainable than ever before. So, travel is no longer just for the wealthy,
that is now a thing of the past. Most
any level of education and income are now able to travel.
Due to a growing interest in travel, facilities like
lodging, transportation, and dining started
to grow, as well as, creating new jobs. Many businesses travel as well, and the company
pays most of their fees, so they are looking for the best places to stay
and eat. Many will use travel agents for
this purpose, and these agents are often
in the recreation profession. From airlines, cruise lines, and hotels to
restaurants, tour companies, and theme parks, the travel and leisure industry
employs millions of Americans each year and rates among the top 10 employers, according
to the U.S. Travel Association (Travel and Leisure, n.d.).
Traveling for leisure activities is a great way to
refresh one's self, mind, and body. Leisure and recreation started to become famous for ways to relax and have fun. One of the most popular ways to obtain this
leisure of relaxing and having fun is by traveling.
In 2016, authentic
adventure trips became all the rage.
They are continuing to emerge as a popular purpose for traveling
(Burkhard, 2016). Because traveling has become so popular, the need for
lodging, dining, transportation, and entertainment has increased as well. These are creating more job opportunities, as
well as, a higher demand to fill these positions. As a result, more people are going to college
to get their degree in the Recreation and Parks Administration field.
Another significant
aspect of traveling is to discover new cultures and traditions followed by
different peoples around the world (Kaushik, 2017). Many people travel to experience the way
other people or cultures live, which has become a phenomenon. Learning and experiencing these new
traditions are exciting and surprising. Travel is a
great way to meet people and make friends from all over the United
States and even the world.
Sharing these experiences
on social media sites like Facebook,
Snapchat, and Instagram has opened a whole new world to many people. Social
media has played a considerable part in
the popularity of traveling in the recreation field. Many recreational professionals are posting
their travels and pictures on social media, and
it has peaked the interest of many people of all ages, backgrounds, and
education. It also creates fantastic
memories and is shared with many others
to enjoy as well.
Being in the recreation field and traveling is like a dream
job. Earning a paycheck while traveling
is not unheard of in the recreation
field. Not only do these professionals get
to travel for work and leisure, but they get to help others plan their travels/vacations
as well. Recreational
jobs will be around for many years due to people’s attraction to parks, recreation, and tourism; there will always be job opportunities in the
recreation field.
Tourism is a growth industry and continues to create
such diversity in jobs. Travel and tourism job choices are endless
with positions as a travel agent, wholesaler, visitor information, tour
operation, cruising, flight attendant, transport, events and tourism services,
and so many more. According to the
Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, the Australian tourism industry
is one of the country’s greatest
strengths, “it is our largest services industry export, earning $26 Billion a
year.” To further enhance your prospects,
the government has also launched the Tourism Employment Plan Guide and a new
Tourism Employment Plan Advisory Service, to help the industry overcome regional labor and skills shortages (Aileen,
2016).
More people are having desires to travel, to see more,
to do more, and to be more. There is a
word used for this desire to travel, wanderlust. It may not be a real word, but it has sparked
a fire in the travel industry. Those who
are lusting after the wonders of travel, gazing up at the stars at night and
daydreaming about hiking Mount Everest, these are the ones caught up in wanderlust. These are a few of the many reasons travel is
popular in the recreation profession currently.
References
Aileen. (2016, September
22). Travel and Tourism Industry: Jobs and Careers in Travel &
Tourism.
Retrieved April 02, 2018, from
Burkhard, S. N. (2016, December 5). 7
travel trends for 2017 that will drive the global tourism
industry.
Retrieved April 02, 2018, from https://www.trekksoft.com/en/blog/7-travel- trends-for-2017-that-will-drive-the-global-tourism-industry
Kaushik, D. (2017, July 6). Why
is traveling so important in life?
Retrieved April 1, 2018, from
Travel and Leisure. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 02, 2018, from http://www.vault.com/industries- professions/industries/travel-and-leisure.aspx
Keywords: #recreation #leisure #EasternKentuckyUniversity
#EKU #parks #travel #tourism #economicimpact #photography #destination
#experiences #cruise #airfare #airport #guide
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