Travel is the moving process of humans between different distant geographical locations. Travel can either be one-way or round-trip, and usually can be done with only luggage, vehicle or bicycle. In some cases, the word ‘travel’ refers to a single experience of traveling, while in other cases, it refers to a journey. In general, travel requires a change in mode of transportation (usually involving a vehicle), which is then followed by a period of relaxation. Travel may also involve an activity such as shopping, dining, visiting culture and art, gaming, sightseeing, and so on.
The word ‘travel’ itself however has many meanings that differ according to the use of the word. To define travel in general, we must take into account several factors, such as: the use of the word travel itself, the time period traveled, the places traveled to, the people traveled with and so on. Let us take each of these factors separately. Let us begin with the use of the word travel itself. The use of travel as a verb indicates travel in its most basic sense, which can also mean traveling from one place to another.
When people travel to other places for leisure or business, they are said to be travelling. Common examples of this verb are like this: I am going out to visit London. A much longer list of common words describing trips include: trekking, hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, river rafting, hiking, mountaineering, bicycling, etc. This last example illustrates the fact that, irrespective of the mode of transport chosen to travel (car, train, plane, etc.) all forms of transport allow people to move from one place to another.
For business travellers, travelling is an integral part of their activity. Not only must they meet targets and deadlines for completion of projects but, inevitably, they will need to travel from one distant geographical locations to another. For example, a company may be based in one town and require staff from another town and several other distant geographical locations. Therefore, for every business trip there is a defined set of activities associated with it such as: meeting up with team members, visiting clients, doing research, etc.
In addition, travel also has an emotional component to it. For instance, let us take the above example again; while a business trip can involve meeting clients and doing research, there is also the possibility of experiencing a break or a boredom with no specific reason. There is no escaping the feeling of being isolated when that happens. This can then lead to feelings of anxiety, frustration and depression. For these reasons, let us now take the next step and say that for the majority of people, when they say that they are travelling; it means both a literal and figurative journey.
This brings us to the final component that all of the components of the above key words are built on: leisure and tourism. When you are travelling, it is primarily about leisure. To experience a holiday as we commonly refer to it, entails taking in sights, going sightseeing, visiting tourist destinations and, often, spending time at a spa, having a swimming or fishing holiday. The term is used to describe a time when one is out of work (or working) and uses travel to unwind and relax. Holidays can be used to enjoy every aspect of a tourism and leisure travel experience so it can potentially be seen as an integrated entity encompassing all three components of travel.
