Traveling was one of the things I missed the most during the COVID pandemic. Many different sorts of travel have been put on hold (and some are still being put off), including visiting family and friends, taking leisurely vacations, exploring new locations, and even going to business conferences. With the epidemic, everything came to an end. At the height of the pandemic, there were so many things to worry about that travel felt insignificant, almost like an extra in life.
I didn’t recognize one of the crucial features of travel that was stopped by the epidemic until lately. We missed experiences like spending time in-person with the people we love and cherish when we stopped traveling. This was a clear consequence. We also missed out on chances to savor the sensation of getting away from it all. We also probably spent fewer minutes discovering new locations. The loss of the capacity to travel was something that many of us felt and acknowledged. Less visible was the fact that by not traveling, we lost the opportunity to get to know and trust those who are different from us.
According to research, there is a substantial correlation between broad international travel experiences and better trust of others, or the confidence in the goodness of humanity. We are more willing to share knowledge with one another when there is higher overall trust. And we become more tolerant of others as we learn to value those who are different from us. The researchers also discovered that even short-term travel, if it involves interaction with people, both locals and other tourists, can have a favorable effect on our level of faith in others.
One of the essential elements of social empathy is being open to learning from everybody else, especially strangers who have experienced experiences that are different from our own. Experiences that enable us to view the world from the perspective of others are the best ways to increase our capacity for empathy. We gain when we can understand the viewpoint of others who are different from ourselves, whether that difference is due to ethnicity, color, class, culture, or another factor. There are numerous methods for taking a perspective. To travel is amazing, and it has the advantage of not only strengthening our capacity for perspective-taking but also of being fun and thrilling.
Although it is not the only approach, travel is a fantastic way to learn about other cultures. It was a crucial chance to develop social empathy that was lost during the pandemic. I’m looking forward to bringing back a tried-and-true method for developing our social empathy now that the globe is starting to open up again and we are traveling once again. Happy travels guys!
BON VOYAGE!!