The Thrill is Gone? – Travel + Leisure Does Social Media

I finally finished reading through January’s Travel + Leisure and wanted to pass along a great quote from Peter Jon Lindberg, T+L’s editor-at-large. In Social Media Revolution, an article reviewing social media’s impact on the traveler, Lindberg writes, “Part of the thrill of travel is in the mystery it entails, the buzz that comes from trying to imagine what this strange new place will even look like.”

Twitter, hotel review sites, travel guides, blogs, Travel Channel shows and the like, Lindberg’s article struck home with me because I have completely embraced the information explosion. A planner by nature, I have visited places for the first time and felt as if I had already been there. Not because it was similar to somewhere else, but because I had done so much research beforehand that the place seemed familiar, often times disappointingly so.

“Part of the thrill of travel is in the mystery it entails, the buzz that comes from trying to imagine what this strange new place will even look like.”

When I travel to a new city, state, country or continent I want it to feel new. I want Lindberg’s mystery and buzz. The challenge will be fighting my tendency to over-plan and research every angle.