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CURIOSITY DID NOT KILL THE TRAVEL COMPANION
If you want to have a good time traveling with someone else, if we absolutely had to put the finger on the one single characteristic trait of a great travel companion, if we had no other option at all, it would be to choose someone who is able to pay for your ticket. Just kidding. According to Coastal Living, it’s curiosity: “Sixty-four percent of survey respondents described the perfect travel companion as someone who is curious. In addition, 65 percent consider a spouse or significant other as the best travel partner for new experiences, while 25 percent would prefer to travel alone.” Sorry Shirley, appreciate the plane ticket, but, I’m looking to travel with someone open to new experiences (I’m not saying I know a Shirley, just made that part up).
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SHIRLEY, I SAID SOLO
That title only makes sense if you read the previous blurb. So, if you don’t have a travel companion (we won’t judge if you tried), don’t worry. Actually, in my book, it’s good to have some solo travel time in there every once in a while. If you’re ready for it, I dare you to travel solo to a romantic private island resort. Travel + Leisure share what it would be like: “My villa had an outdoor shower roughly the size of my kitchen at home, a view of the Caribbean Sea, a hammock, a personal palapa, and its own little stretch of private beach. Was it abundantly clear why it would’ve been appealing to honeymooners? Yes. Was it weird to have it all to myself? Not even a little. The phrase “villa for one” might not be super common, but it should be, because sleeping diagonally in a king-size bed and sprawling your toiletries out over two bathroom sinks is truly luxurious.”
Flying solo to a private island resort retreat may be a lot
of people’s happy place. Want to learn about more happy places? National
Geographic asked photographers to send a pic of their happiest place. Results
are inspiring.
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CAN-CUN AND WILL
Several months ago, I wrote about the most visited city in the World. For those of you who religiously read my newsletters, you may remember that the city was Bangkok. A new report has just been released looking at the most touristy cities from a completely different perspective – how much of their GDP is driven by tourism. The results of this survey are a great reminder on the power tourism can have on a local economy and the importance of growing tourism sustainably. It can be a markets lifeblood. From Coastal Living: “According to a report from the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) filed in October, tourism accounts for nearly half, approximately 49.6 percent, of the city’s GDP. So, mom and dad, Spring Breakers aren’t just partying, they’re also keeping Cancun’s economy strong.” Fine, I guess I’ll go to Cancun to support…
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ON THE OTHER HAND
How not to do tourism:
“We Don’t Want Tourists”: Meet the Ancient Town in Italians Don’t Want You to Visit. All this makes me want to do is go there.
A Ugandan government plan to add “women’s curves” as a tourism attraction is demeaning. Obviously, they have not gotten the #MeToo memo.
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DU-IT
Dubai is on many people’s must-visit lists. Having had a chance to live in the UAE, I can say Dubai is a great place to visit, especially if you know where to look. CNN does a pretty good job of highlighting its beauty: “Madinat Jumeirah: Leave the private beach and head north past the public beach and you’ll find Bu Qtair Restaurant. A low-key gem of a seafood shack dealing in the freshest fish, it has a large local following and was once visited by the late Anthony Bourdain.”
Thanks,
Joe Naaman
Managing Editor, Waywinds
Keep Exploring!