Travel in the 21st century has become more of a trend than an activity of curiosity or desire. There is no problem with that. Seeing the world is never a bad thing. However, the effects of travelling out of pressure are often very different from those of passion. The line between the two is getting thinner and blurrier, but it is there nonetheless. So is travel your passion or pressure? Find out below.

General Interest

Do you like to travel in general? The long drives? The random car breakdowns? The hustle of last-minute accommodation changes? Do you immerse yourself in different places and cultures? If the answer is no to all counts, then perhaps you do not travel out of passion. Of course, this is not a definitive test, but it does carry a lot of water. Travel is not only about moving from one point to another, and then another. It entails all the details in between—the frustrations and joys. If you find yourself travelling only for the fun parts, then it might not be out of passion.

Travel Plans

To honestly know whether you travel out of pressure or passion, look at your travel plans. Does travelling feature in most of your plans, or is it something you do when you have no other options? Truth be told travellers often fit their schedules around their travel plans and not the other way round. That does not mean you have to travel every weekend to prove you are a passionate traveller. Frequency does not always mean appreciation. You know you keep fixing it in your calendar, even when you are not sure of it happening. Sometimes passion alone is enough grounds to foster probabilities.

Budget

Does travelling make it to your budgeting? Most travellers admit to having a separate saving account for all their travel plans. That means that whether you travel once a month or once a year, you plan for it regularly. This continuous thinking about your travel plans shows you are a passionate traveller. Pressure travellers do not keep money aside for their travel. They also often end up breaking the bank during most of their trips.

Choice of Destination

Choice of destination tells a lot about a person that travels out of pressure or passion. The former group always goes for high-end places that they saw other people visit. Passion travellers, on the other hand, visit places driven by curiosity and adventure. They will explore their new environments as much as they can before moving on to the next. To them, it does not matter whether it is a seven-star hotel, or a community living in a rural setting. They are willing to see it all, even when it is not so pleasant to the eyes.

Activities During Travel

At this point, do you think travel is your passion, or do you need more to decide? When you travel out of pressure, you will find yourself participating in little related to the travel. For example, you might choose to spend the whole day sunbathing, or watching TV in your room, when everyone else is out exploring. You might have no interest in the safari drives, park visits or boat rides. For you, the travelling part ended once you got to your destination. The lack of passion often manifests as a lack of interest. Moreover, you might end up having no added experiences after the trip.

Recording Instead of Living it

In this age of technology and globalisation, people use social media to share their lives with their loved ones despite their geographical differences. While this is not always a bad thing, it can become a vice when not moderated. When you find yourself recording every part of your trip without sitting for a moment to take it in, you might be travelling under pressure. Social media puts us in this awkward position to want to show the whole world how much fun we are having, lest we lose our online credibility. Because of this, some travel for the photo or video moment – not for enjoyment. When travelling out of passion, relishing the experience always comes first before recording it – even when you are a travel blogger or vlogger.

Initiative

The last way to tell whether you travel out of pressure or passion is your initiative. Do you ever take the initiative to make and execute travel plans? Alone or otherwise. People who travel out of pressure tag along. They rarely come up with the idea. On the rare occasion that they do, they will not go through the trouble of making the actual plans. They, therefore, easily give up at the slightest hitch. People that travel out of passion go out of their way to make their wishes come true, no matter how frustrating it gets. They also know how to adapt and improvise as they go. Their end goal is to have a successful adventure.

Final Thoughts

There are different kinds of travellers. But all either travel out of pressure or passion. It is not wrong to be either although the former usually end up losing more than they gain after their trips. They lose time, interest and most times, money. Thankfully, it is effortless to develop a love for travel. You have to start small and build on that. So is travel your passion?