The COVID-19 crisis has unleashed a paralysis of sorts in all spheres of life. Businesses have shut down, either temporarily or permanently, with normal life coming to a standstill and uncertainty looming in at large. Of all the business sectors, the travel and tourism industry is the worst hit sector as the general public mostly stayed indoors, advised not to step out of their homes until necessary. With a second wave of the pandemic rocking several European and Asian countries, the travel and tourism sector has to wait until a successful vaccination programme is in place. This brings us to the question: what good can travel do to the mind and body after a rather long hiatus? Though the long-term advantages of travelling can be myriad, here is how you can benefit from travelling.

• Travel is a stress-buster.  Needless to say, a bit of travel to your favourite destination will make you feel more relaxed and stay focussed on your goals and aspirations. People who don’t travel much feel the heat of life’s pressure and struggles. So get a life, travel to the known and the unknown, the familiar and the unfamiliar.
• Travel helps you to reinvent the wheel. Yes, it gives you fresh insights towards executing your most cherished goals. It can help you broaden your awareness and be open to new things. Learning different cultures through travel opens up a new realm of possibilities. Travel forces you to think independently and evaluate your own principles and values.
• Travel increases the happiness quotient, says a recent study. This basically is a result of travel killing boredom and idealness. Because travel is a shift away from the mundane and the monotonous, it essentially makes the traveller happy. The change of mood happens when the minds starts to appreciate the possibility of a new belief.
• If you want to toughen up your mental muscles and develop more adaptability and resilience in life, you need to travel…and a lot of it. Travel at times may not turn out as planned, and lot of adjustments have to be made and alternate plans charted out, especially in a new location, where finding resources can be can be next to impossible.
• Travel is a great means to enhance your cognitive abilities. For many, travel is a creative channel for responding to an entirely different situation.  So, when have you planned to travel when the COVID is finally over?