Traveling as a Skill-Seeker: Cultivating a Hobby While on Vacation
Add to Favorites
Print
Send to a Friend
Publish this on your site
Send to a friend by YMAuthor: Therin Jones
In response to the growing number of travelers not content to spend days idling at the beach, the travel industry is responding with highly-tailored ‘instructional travel.’ The tours – tailored for all interests from those of the chef to the athlete to the bookworm – not only allows individuals to meet others like them, but also to acquire skills they can continue to use long after they’ve unpacked their suitcase.
While many travelers approach their holidays as a chance for mindless relaxation, an increasing number are using their time off to cultivate skills from cooking to alpine skiing. In many ways, the ‘instructional travel’ industry allows travelers to have the ‘best of both worlds’ in that they enjoy time away from routine while simultaneously developing hobbies to keep for the rest of their lives. If you enjoy the culinary arts, for example, then perhaps you should consider embarking on a trip that integrates sight-seeing with time spent in foreign kitchens. A common complaint from tourists is that delving into the ‘true’ culture of a region was very difficult, given the limitations of their tour’s structure. If you’re staying in tourist-friendly lodging, eating at locales typically frequented by foreigners, and trudging through the same string of ‘must-see’ destinations as every other tourist in the region, it’s unlikely that you’re going to get even a taste of the foreign country’s flavor. All of this changes, however, when you’re pushing back your sleeves and absorbing the unique perfumes, colors, and textures of Italian food in a Tuscan kitchen. What’s more: you’ll emerge from the experience with tangible skills. When you return home from what feels strikingly similar to a ‘luxurious escape,’ you’ll be able to translate what you’ve learned into a bowl of pasta for the entire family to appreciate.
Of course, the value of instructional travel extends well beyond the kitchen. Athletic travelers seeking to develop specific sport skills will be well accommodated by one of the reputable adventure travel companies catering directly to them. From amateur to expert, you’ll find a company willing to tailor itineraries to maximize your growth. These athletic adventure tours include everything active from kayaking and surfing to mountain biking and rock climbing. Skiers and snowboarders might cash in on the adventure travel trend even more than most, because the seasonal contrast between the northern and southern hemisphere allows them to expand their season by hopping to faraway destinations still knee-deep in snow.
Finally, for travelers seeking an even more structured educational component for their trip, there is a wide variety of academic tour companies. For the linguist, there’s a unique opportunity for language immersion with a host family in a country of their choosing. For the mathematician, there are a handful of reputable, ‘on-the-road’ summer camps specializing in specific areas of math. Even the bookworm can be enticed to insert his bookmark and step out into the world with innovative, ‘famous author’ tours across the world.
While it’s not any cheaper to travel when you’re doing so to educate yourself, the greater rewards – namely returning home both refreshed and more knowledgeable in a particular field – make this type of travel a better value.
Therin Jones's Last Articles :
Traveling as a Skill-Seeker: Cultivating a Hobby While on Vacation
Ski Vacations: Making Them Unique
Learn to Surf: Finding the Best Beaches
Traveling with Sports Equipment: How to Prevent Damage
Snowboarding Year-Round, Stress-Free
Rate : Traveling as a Skill-Seeker: Cultivating a Hobby While on Vacation
| Rating: 0 Votes: 0 Visits: 17 |