Did The Internet Kill The 'Romance' Of Travel?

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The Internet transformed almost all aspects of our lives. Millions of users can not imagine their lives without it and also millions were born with it and don't even know how it was before the internet era. One of the things that is completely transformed is the way we travel--from scratch and from "start to finish". My parents used to travel during that era when it took 20 hours and 3 flights to get to a city that is a 2h direct flight today. When plane transport was not as nearly affordable as nowadays and airline tickets were complicated paper documents issued by a travel agency. I was a little kid during this "pre-internet era" so during our Sunday lunch I "traveled" my mom back in time and had her tell me how it used to be...

They would pack the car and depart on their holiday adventure without knowing the final destination or which countries they would end up visiting--which from nowadays point of view looks sounds kind of romantic. "We would head to Germany, for instance, and we would make stops on the way visiting different cities. We had a map and if we got lost we would ask people to guide us. When we decided to spend the night in a city we liked we would stop at a hotel we would see on our way and directly book a room at the reception."

Though when they knew where they would like to go (and they would get the idea either from a catalog from a travel agency or hotel they picked up from somewhere or a recommendation from a friend) they had to visit the travel agencies to book the flight and hotel. "We had to call, visit the travel agencies, we picked up catalogs and took them home... then we would go back again to ask if something was not clear. 

To compare prices we had to visit more agencies and decide on the best offer. For flights, we had as well to go to an agency and we were dependent on the skills of the agency worker to find us the best option that again we couldn't compare. Payments had to be done at the travel agency so usually, this was our third or even fourth visit at the agency we chose for our travel. We would find out about the weather conditions from the captain in the plane. We would visit the info desk to get directions on how to get to the hotel. 

We would rely on the receptionist's recommendations on what to do or visit in the city. When we would come home we would be inviting our friends over dinner or drinks to share the experience. However, before having them, I would have the photos printed and sorted into a photo album. We also had one of those big cameras that I would take with me everywhere to make video recordings. I was well-organized organized, once we got back I would make a VHS titled with the place and the date."

I can't imagine that this was a reality only 15 years ago. Today for all of these things all we need is internet access and smart device.

Choosing a place to visit--Google, ads, Facebook, email marketing and other apps booming us with "information on the next place we should visit" instead of catalogs from agencies and hotels.
Booking flight and hotel--Travel apps instead of travel agents. If before the internet travel booking and reservations were only possible by visiting travel agencies or ordering by phone now we can book our travel at any time, from any location while saving money and time. 

The disintermediation brought by the internet cut the travel agents and the reintermediation introduced the new form of intermediaries--algorithms replaced the travel agents who can do their job better and at unprecedented speed. We are our own travel agents today.

 We can get the best possible deals and be able to make well-informed decisions. We can check the credibility of airlines and hotels by reading reviews from others who have been there, done that. We are able to plan every single detail of our holiday beforehand and know exactly how every single coin will be spent on the trip. And it is super-easy, no need to be an expert to make online bookings. Booking accommodation or flight has become an almost automated series of actions: go online, compare prices, choose, read some reviews. Fill in the form. Choose a seat or room. Pay. Add it to your smartphone.

Navigating during traveling--Google Maps instead of traditional maps. "Directions" instead of "Excuse me, Sir, How can I get to ....?". Google knows better than a local. I once asked a local to reconfirm the bus number that Google gave me. He told me that I can also use number 3 instead of 3G, I decided to take the advice from the local and that ending up being a mistake as I had to walk for 15 min with my suitcase instead of waiting for 5 more minutes for the 3G route. However, the consequence is that millennials don't have any sense of orientation if our phone runs out of battery we are lost not knowing where east and west is.

Collecting memories and sharing with friends--Dozens of Facebook and Instagram posts shared with thousands of people who don't care shared in real-time VS one printed photo album shared with close friends and family after the trip. We are now coming back from a two-day trip with more photos than our parents did during their 2-years of travels. And if we don't post any of those on social media chances are they won't even be seen in the next few years until they are "lost somewhere in the cloud". A friend of mine jokes "We have to lure friends with dinner and drinks so that we can play the slideshow of 500 photos from our exotic travels. Otherwise, no one except our parents would look at all those photos."

The is no doubt that all these new technologies enable us to do all the things faster, quicker, easier with more convenience... And yet I wonder how come that it seems like we have less and less free time. It feels like we are in a constant hurry. Are all those available choices the reason? Do we make decisions slower? Do we spend precious time and hours on decisions like:
Source: https://www.forbes.com

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