Do not give up your travel dream

Travel is a passion for many of us, an escape, an adventure, a break from our routine environment. So, if travel brings us joy, that makes it important to our mental health and wellbeing, right? What if I said that even amidst a pandemic there is a way for travel to boost your mental health and that international travel experiences are closer than you think?

Stop choosing a path of self-pity.

Whilst Australians cannot travel internationally right now, whining about it on your social media is not helping your mental health or that of your network. Instead, you are fuelling those little gremlins that make you feel down and depressed. Science has shown us that showing gratitude improves our mental health and self-esteem. By revisiting a positive moment or experience in our lives, this allows us to relive how that experience made us feel. Bear with me, this is much more than just a feel-good trip down memory lane.

Just this week, my husband and I watched a television program on Japan and Taiwan, two places that hold many happy memories for us. Instead of being depressed and wishing we could visit, we found ourselves reminiscing about our past experiences there. It lifted our spirits by talking about those experiences and reliving how they made us feel, but more importantly, it helped to keep our travel flame alive. In addition to being thankful for the adventures we have had so far; we have been researching more local destinations that we can travel to more easily in the current circumstances. This researching and planning of where we would like to go next is revealing new discoveries and giving us something exciting to look forward to.

Your next international travel experience is closer than you think.

The Japanese Cherry Blossoms are alive and thriving in late September and into October 2021. You can leave your passport at home because you will find Sakura Matsuri in Cowra, NSW, just a short drive from Sydney or Canberra. (Image courtesy of Visit Cowra).

One of my fondest memories of Canada is gathering around a toasty fire and sharing local food and wine with friends. Less than 1% of Australia’s vineyards are above 600m and for the ultimate in cool climate wines it takes a unique mix of latitude, altitude and attitude and this place has all three. But you do not have to head to Canada because the Orange Wine Festival Night Markets offers that same magic and starts in October 2021 (Image courtesy of Orange 360).

For the more adventurous, forget the immense caverns of the Grand Canyon or the lush rainforests of Brazil, the Gondwana Rainforests are the most impressive subtropical rainforest anywhere in the world. Stretching from Newcastle up through the Queensland border, this World Heritage Listed land is a portal to another time and world and is unlike anywhere else on earth (Video courtesy of National Parks NSW).

Longing for a Pacific island escape where the mountains drop into the ocean? No this is not Hawaii, but an Australian island that is just a short flight from the east coast. The best thing is you won’t be overcrowded with tourists as the number of people on the island is capped. I strongly recommend you use a specialist Lord Howe Island agent such as Oxley Travel to book your travel. (Image courtesy of LordHoweIsland.info).

Maybe an African safari is more your scene. Take the kids, glamp it up and, just like a game of Jumanji, choose your own adventure from Zoofari Lodge, Savannah Cabins or the Billabong Camp (Image courtesy of Taronga Western Plains Zoo).

Finally, that image you keep staring into on your computer desktop, you know, the one with the intimate hut atop a grassy hill against a perfect clear sky. The great news is that place is real and no it is not in Norway, but much closer to home. (Image courtesy of Kimo Estate).

Why are international visitors so keen on Australia as a destination?

Our top five international visitor markets are: China, New Zealand, the USA, UK and Japan. What is it that attracts so many foreign visitors to Australia each year? From the tourism economy stats for 2019/20, across each state, it can be seen that regional tourism, on average, accounts for almost half of visitation (Tourism Research Australia, 2021). This means our international visitors get out of the cities and into our regional destinations. Is there a chance that someone from Asia or Europe has seen more of Australia than you have?

Just because you may have been to each state, does that mean you have seen Australia in all its awe? Have you danced at Australia's iconic music festival in Kamilaroi? Have you experienced the stunning river region of Latje Latje? What about catching some cool waves at Bundjalung? We are blessed with one of the richest cultural experiences in the world and I ask how much of it have you experienced? I love this map from AIATSIS as it shows our nation with enriched clarity. Each region is a nation in its own right and with a unique story.

Lockdowns and impacts of the pandemic are tough, but these times will not last and our world will heal. If this period has taught me one other thing, it is our regional destinations are often underestimated and represent a bounty of cultures and experiences that are yet to be fully realised and appreciated by many Australians, myself included.

Written on the lands of the Bidjigal people of the Eora Nation.