WHICH COUNTRIES ARE LEFT ON YOUR WISH LIST?
Having worked in the travel industry for the past 29 years, I have to say that I am a very lucky man! Since 1991, I have had the enviable position of travelling around the world for both business… and pleasure.
Some would say the travelling for work is a perk of the job. Others would say that it’s simply a job and that they would rather earn more and pay to travel. For me, I certainly can’t complain, as I have visited over 80 countries, met some lovely people and experienced some amazing sights and sounds. Of course, having access to free or heavily discounted airline and hotel rates certainly has helped feed my passion to see the globe.
The beauty of travel is that there is always something new to see. Noone can honestly say that they have seen everything, as the world is an ever evolving large space.
So which countries are on your ‘bucket list’? By ‘bucket list’ I am referring to a collection of goals and life experiences that you want to achieve before you die (known as kicking the bucket!).
Recently we undertook a small survey of 50 people to ask ‘which countries would you like to visit that you haven’t already been to?’. Interestingly, the same countries repeated in many of the responses. The top responses by number of people were as follows:
USA + New Zealand = 10 people
Costa Rica + Japan + Iceland = 8 people
Madagascar + Fiji + Canada = 7 people
Nepal + Mongolia + Jordan + Brazil + Bhutan + Argentina = 6 people
Australia = 5 people
Greece = 4 people
Spain + Croatia = 3 people
It was clear to see that people living in Europe were typically selecting destinations outside of Europe, whereas people living outside of Europe were choosing nations within Europe. I suppose that this was to be expected, as far flung locations always seem to have a bit more mystique surrounding them! USA was mainly chosen for 2 locations, Hawaii and Alaska. New Zealand for it’s natural beauty and lack of people.
So what’s the top 5 left on my ‘bucket list’?
Nepal
Bora Bora
Bhutan
Madagascar
Costa Rica
In 2020, I am hoping to strike Nepal off my top 5 locations still to visit. Hopefully, I will live long enough to complete the remaining 4…. and many more.
Article by Jonathan Wilkins from Select Representation (part of the Global Travel Representation Alliance).