Travel Tuesday question of the week – what would you change in travel?
With the New Year upon us, it’s time for renewed enthusiasm, aspirations, and goals. While many people make New Year’s resolutions, these resolutions are really a desire to make things better. Whether it’s losing something, putting something behind us, setting a goal, or doing things better or differently, resolutions seek a better quality of life for ourselves and those around us.
Last week, the Travel Tuesday question of the week asked what your New Year’s travel resolutions were for the upcoming year. With our personal goals in sight, now it’s time to look at the bigger picture and think about what resolutions can be made to improve our travel experiences.
If we think back just twenty years ago, so much in travel has changed for the better. There are many more countries available for us to visit and explore. The internet, social media, and technology have made sharing travel, booking travel, and writing about travel so much easier. There are more travel opportunities, tips, vacations, tours, and connections making travel cheaper, more educational, and more meaningful. However, not everything that has happened in travel has been good.
What things about travel would you like to see changed for the upcoming year? It could be a resolution about a specific place or country, how we travel, or something you would like to have when traveling that we don’t have now.
For me, I would love to see a huge change in the airline industry to make it more affordable. As many people know, I write a lot about what is going on with airlines and with airline fees, higher airfares, fewer flights, and controversy over finding flights (American pulls flights from Orbitz, Expedia pulls American Airline flights from its site). Flying anywhere these days is expensive and the costs continue to go up. As a family guy who travels with kids, the cost of a flight can be more expensive than the food, lodging, activities, and sightseeing combined. I would love to see an airline industry that makes flying more affordable once again.
What changes would you like to see in travel? What resolutions could the travel industry, a country, or an area of travel make to improve the quality of our travel experiences?
Share your thoughts and let’s hope our ideas can make travel and the world we live in a better place.
Travel cartoon (Flickr: DrasticJo)
I was just thinking about this the other day when I was flying back from Florida. The thing I hate most about flying is the amount of time it takes to board and unboard. Instead of charging people to bring checked bags, I wish they would charge for carry on bags. Especially during the holidays when everyone has way more bags than they should and space and time are limited.
I’d much rather be only about to bring 1 small carry on and not pay for checked bags than wait so long to board. It would probably say the airlines money, too, because they could depart faster!
I definitely understand that frustration, especially during the holidays. The baggage fees make people want to carry on and cram even more stuff on the plane which makes it take longer. Quite honestly, a complete overhaul of the airline industry would be a nice way to change travel! We need LOTS of improvements in this area! We can all dream right?
I would make visas less necessary.
Those darn government regulations! I wonder if visas are just because “my government doesn’t like your government so we are just going to make it harder for you to get into the country!”
My outlandish, never-gonna-happen wish would be for someone to invent a way to travel without traveling (ie. beam me up)! I get limited time off and hate spending so much time in transit to get somewhere – I’d much rather spend more of my time in my destination than sitting on trains or planes waiting to get there or get home. I know some people out there enjoy the journeys, but I’m not one of them!!
Don’t you know life is about the journey and not the destination?!
I am with you on the air travel. I could bypass that completely. However, I really do enjoy train travel so I think that could be fun. It’s more relaxed and allows you to connect with others and not feel so trapped on an airplane. I definitely understand your frustrations though!
I live and work in China – ever been on a train here? Haha!
I second the visa comment too – my husband is a Chinese national, so for us to travel anywhere outside of this country looks like it will be challenging – but we can try!
Well I was thinking of train travel in Europe not China! You’re right – I don’t think that would be very fun!
I agree with visas comment. Europeans are relatively lucky in that regard but there are still parts of the world that could open up a little.
Yes, Americans have a number of visa requirements for countries because others don’t like us as much!
I would like for the airline industry to stop making things so damn expensive and so difficult. I also would love for TSA to stop being so neurotic!! I’m not against security, but lately they’ve had a ridiculous approach to it!
You and me both! I hate how expensive it is to fly now and shudder to think how much more expensive it will be when my little one turns 2! As for the TSA, it is over the top. Quite honestly, TSA is meant to make people feel safer, not actually make things safer. However, now they have just become annoying and intrusive!
I’d make air travel a pleasant experience. Cut baggage fees, ensure there is a video screen on the back of every seat, get rid of surly check-in staff and open up emergency exit rows to all passengers, not just Medallion members. Chances of that happening? 0.0%!
Yep, 0% chance! It’s all about the money now and air travel is just a necessary, uncomfortable, and expensive evil of traveling!
My dream list:
- No more draconian reactions to every imaginable threat.
- No more security kabuki.
- Airlines would treat all passengers with the same respect and civility with which they treat premiere mileage plan members (the difference is SHOCKING and intentional).
- Do away with the a la carte pricing (also known as nickel and dime-ing).
Oh… and teleporting. I wish for teleporting.
I think the list of frustrations with airlines is never ending! However, if you had the last item on your list, the others wouldn’t matter!
Something I would definitely love to see change in travel is more efficient train system in the US. Amtrak is still inefficient and expensive to get from point A to point B, especially over a larger distance. Also improvements on the High Speed Rail system along the Northeast Corridor (Acela Express), is imperative, as travel time isn’t really much different than the regular train service.
I’m really hoping that the HSR gets built between SF and LA in California, would be an alterative to airplane travel.
And ughh, those major airlines better not pull anymore strings with the online travel sites. I want to see affordable price tickets this year!
You and I are in agreement about high speed rail. It works great in Europe and Asia there is no reason we can’t do it here. At least the northeast has decent Amtrak service. Did you know an Amtrak trip from Sacramento can take up to 12 hours while driving there only takes 8? California definitely needs a high speed rail, as does this rest of the country.
What great competition that would be for the airlines and hopefully it would have the effect of driving down airline ticket prices.