[KENNEDY FELTON]
TINY LITTLE THREE OR FOUR-DAY WEEKEND TRIPS OR MICROCATIONS ARE BECOMING ALL THE RAGE THIS SUMMER.
BUT WHAT IF YOU HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO SPARE?
“I’M PICTURING BEACH, COCKTAILS… FLORIDA?” “LOOK, IT WAS A BUSINESS TRIP.” “I MEAN IT WAS KIND OF BUSINESS.” CLIP FROM “NOW YOU SEE ME”
BLEISURE – THE BLEND OF BUSINESS AND LEISURE TRAVEL – IS HAVING A MOMENT.
FORBES REPORTS IT’S NOW A 600-BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY… AND GROWING. TRAVEL PLATFORM ROUTESPRING ESTIMATES 40 PERCENT OF WORK TRIPS ARE NOW BEING EXTENDED FOR FUN.
“This is even better, right? Because your company’s paying for it. So, you know, maybe your company is paying for two nights, and you’re just picking up one extra night for a hotel.” — CLINT HENDERSON | TRAVEL EXPERT, THE POINTS GUY
SURE, THERE’S THE TREND OF MAXIMIZING TIME OFF, BUT WHAT ABOUT STRETCHING YOUR WALLET?
IF YOU’RE NOT FLYING… YOU MIGHT BE DRIVING.
… WELL – MAYBE NOT LIKE THIS.
WHILE THERE ARE PROS AND CONS OF DRIVING VERSUS FLYING FOR YOUR TRIP… TRIPLE-A CLUB ALLIANCE SAYS ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF DRIVING IS FLEXIBILITY AND HAVING THE OPTION TO TRAVEL TOGETHER AND SPLIT COSTS.
AND WHEN YOU ARE FLYING… CREDIT CARDS COULD BE YOUR BEST FRIEND.
“I realized that, wow, if I just get my finances in order, I can open credit cards, get big sign-up bonuses, and then I can book those flights for free, or those hotels for free.” — CLINT HENDERSON | TRAVEL EXPERT, THE POINTS GUY
BUT THERE IS A CAVEAT. HENDERSON SAYS IF YOU’RE PAYING OVERDRAFT OR LATE FEES… THIS STRATEGY MIGHT BACKFIRE.
WHILE SOME TRAVELERS CHASE POINTS OR PERKS… MANY ARE FOCUSED ON SOMETHING ELSE – EXPERIENCE.
“Experiences have become such a trend over, you know, having the five-star hotel necessarily, or even, you know, flying first class.” — CLINT HENDERSON | TRAVEL EXPERT, THE POINTS GUY
MASTERCARD SAYS NEARLY 12 PERCENT OF TOURISM SPENDING NOW GOES TO CULTURE… ADVENTURE… AND LOCAL EXPERIENCES.
AND WHEN IT COMES TO EXPERIENCE-DRIVEN TRAVEL, GEORGIA FOWKES SAYS CHASING THE INSTA-WORTHY PHOTO ISN’T THE VIBE…
“Right now, it’s about to be summer, and everybody’s obsessed with like, European summer.” — GEORGIA FOWKES | TRAVEL INFLUENCER
“I thought I was gonna go to all these picture spots, and it was gonna be great, but it was crowded. It was over-flooded. It was just not enjoyable. And now, whenever I intend to do another Europe summer, I will not go to the more popular places that people might want.”
INSTEAD, GEORGIA SAYS SHE WANTS TO TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE.
“For example, like, I want to go to Uganda to go gorilla trekking, right? Like, that is a very intentional trip. Like, I’m going for a purpose of adventure, to go with the gorillas, right?” — GEORGIA FOWKES | TRAVEL INFLUENCER
BUT EVEN BEYOND THE PASSPORT STAMPS… GEORGIA SAYS HER BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM TRAVELING WAS ABOUT PERSPECTIVE.
“I feel like people in America, at least, we’re always craving and desiring the next thing, like wanting more, or like feeling like we need to get to the next goal in life. And the people in Tanzania, like, they’re just so happy with where they are, what they’re doing, they don’t really think like that.”
