Why We Travel: The Journeys That Shape Our Lives

A journey can serve many purposes. Business travel creates opportunities for professional exchange. Educational journeys broaden knowledge. Health and wellness travel responds to personal needs, while cultural and religious journeys can connect people with history, identity and belief.

Tourism research recognises this diversity. In a 2024 academic book chapter, researcher Yael Ram identifies leisure, professional travel, visiting friends and relatives, health tourism and religious travel as distinct parts of tourism demand.

The benefits also extend beyond reaching a destination. A 2025 systematic review of 41 empirical studies found that experiences of awe, often associated with natural environments and cultural sites, were linked in the literature to tourist satisfaction, environmental behaviour and wellbeing.

These findings point to a broader understanding of travel: its value depends on what people hope to experience, learn or achieve.

A more connected travel ecosystem should therefore recognise different motivations rather than treating every traveller as someone simply searching for a holiday.

The purpose of a journey matters as much as the destination.