Why Travel Matters

My Latin teacher in 9th grade used to dramatically tell us to “expand your horizons.” Drama aside, I’ve never forgotten it. I think that’s why I am not only passionate about travel, but also believe it to be valuable–it helps to expand your horizons.  Travel is an opportunity to both learn and explore other cultures, and have fun while you do it. 

I read this article recently where President Obama talks about why travel matters and it got me thinking about this again. He said,

“There’s something spectacular about seeing a place, experiencing a different culture, being exposed to new ideas. Travel makes you grow.”

It completely resonated with me. Too often we do not understand other people, whether in other countries or even in our own cities, simply because we do not know and respect cultural differences. Travel provides us with an opportunity to try and walk in someone else’s shoes, to see how life can be different and also how similar. It helps me to understand people who live in far off places as well as understand my neighbor down the street. President Obama describes it as such:

“Travel also reminds us of what we share and what we have become – the ability for us to recognize ourselves in each other…”

It’s why I like sitting in local coffee shops and small restaurants or wandering through local neighborhoods. It’s why I always try to learn hello, please, and thank you in the language of wherever I’m going. 

We have a desire at Portico to better connect the world and help bridge the gap across cultures. We focus on helping you to have an authentic experience and provide an easier way for you to design your travels. By encouraging and helping people to travel more, we hope they will both understand other cultures better and appreciate their own life more.