When was the last time you took the path less travelled? It’s clearer than ever that more and more of us are looking for meaningful travel experiences when we go on holiday – and travelling to unsung, lesser-known destinations is one way to ensure we get under the skin of our chosen destination. In a recent survey by KLM, the airline found that 74 per cent of travellers indicated that they would like to travel “more meaningfully” on their next trip, identifying connections with the places they travel to and the people they meet along the way as one of the most important factors of a trip.
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And while once upon a time we might have defined being well travelled as the number of destinations we’d visited, these days most travellers are more concerned with travelling well – getting to know the destinations they visit and having a unique, authentic experience above all else. Seventy six per cent of people surveyed by KLM, in fact, agreed that meaningful connections while travelling were more important than the number of destinations they visited.
So as we shift away from bucket list, box-ticking holidays to a type of travel that prioritises rooting down in the destinations we end up in, why should we seek to uncover lesser-travelled places? Going off the beaten track often leads us to meet local people who might not be easily found in more touristy areas. Travelling meaningfully represents different things to different people; it might mean chatting to locals over a beer in a dive bar, then following their recommendation for an off-the-beaten-track hike the next morning, where you get the views all to yourself. Or perhaps meaningful travel means skipping tourist trap restaurants in favour of authentic eateries serving dishes that have been made for centuries. For some, meaningful travel could be about visiting lesser-known neighbourhoods and soaking up street art or picking up locally made homeware to take home.
Getting away from the well-trodden tourist path has other benefits too, of course: think well-preserved culture and nature at your fingertips, and the chance to get out and explore under your own steam. You might be pushed out of your comfort zone travelling somewhere unique and unusual, meeting people who hold different views to your own that might challenge how you see the world. All of this, plus you return home with a unique experience that you’ve curated for yourself rather than following the crowd.
Happily, KLM operates routes to many corners of the world that might not be top of the mainstream bucket list. Close to home, consider foodie forays to Bologna in Italy, snowy sojourns in winter wonderland Rovaniemi in Finland or culture-drenched trips to Valencia in Spain. Further afield, KLM operates flights to Canada (slow travel by train through the Rockies, anyone?) Brazil (perfect for a Carnival adventure in Rio or an off-grid adventure through the Amazon) and Panama (blissful beaches for toes-in-the-sand relaxing or surfing) – all yours for the taking.
Visit travelwell.klm.com to learn more about meaningful travel.