There are almost 195 countries around the globe, and just as many destinations to choose from. Between mountains, deserts, beaches, forests, cities and the countryside, choosing the right place to get away from it all can be difficult, even arduous.

In this article, we take the time to find out whether all tourist destinations are equal, and in view of the huge range of destinations on offer, we give you a brief rundown of the points of comparison between the different tourist offers.

1-Budget

The first element that differentiates the choice from one destination to another is the price allocated to the trip, which differs from one country to another. Travel costs account for a large part of the budget, and for popular destinations the costs are generally lower than for unfamiliar destinations. Also, the distance from your point of arrival to your point of departure influences the price of your trip: the further you travel, the more you are likely to pay.

However, these two observations need to be tempered with other observations: booking your trip in advance for more than 6 months and using connections for long trips can reduce your costs by almost $500 or €500.

The way you travel influences the budget you allocate to your trip. To define a simple rule to keep in mind in terms of costs, backpack trips are in the shipping contingencies of less expensive purchases than tailor-made trips :

backpack holidays < group holidays < tailor-made holidays

Shopping contingencies: shopping contingencies are the shopping opportunities you’ll encounter as you travel. For example, you can eat for less than $1 or €1 as you wander around the streets of the city you are visiting, rather than following your travel plans and eating in a restaurant booked in advance.

2- Escape

Forests

For lovers of parks, gardens and nature, a forest getaway is the best travel option. There are forests open to visitors on all 5 continents, but those who have focused their tourist circuits on this area remain the African continent and the South American subcontinent, where there is a singular biodiversity home to unique and rare species of living creatures.

The benefits of travelling in the forest are a return to nature, a disconnection from the advertising-driven world, rediscovery of the self and care for the environment.

Forest trips are enjoyed by people of all ages, and are just as suitable for the old as for the young. When you’re a child, the Amazon rainforests and African animals open up your imagination to different cultures. In retirement, these landscapes offer tranquillity and moral fulfilment.

Forests are also found on other continents, where they are visited all year round by tourists.

Forest holidays are appreciated for the calm and purity of their atmosphere, where you can recharge your energy by connecting with nature.

Holiday resorts

Very popular with families and young adults looking for physical entertainment and fun activities, holiday resorts are some of the most famous places to relax on the planet. There are resorts in every corner of the globe, close to every major city, with skiing, beaches, swimming and canoeing as the main activities.

Accommodation can be in hotels, rented houses or campsites, and the main aim is to break away from the working world through physical activity and fun. In holiday resorts, the rule is that the more activities on offer, the more the holidaymaker enjoys his rest. You empty your mind and recharge your batteries by escaping through the activities offered by the holiday resort.

holidaymaker’s rest = activities carried out during their stay

The idea of holiday resorts is to provide you with serotonin by offering you physical activities and or by offering you the chance to connect as closely as possible with your peers. What counts most in holiday resorts are the activities offered by the location, which will create a change of scenery for the holidaymaker, rather than the distance at which the destination is located.

Cities

Cities are the most popular travel destinations for travellers from all over the world, and are visited more by young adults than by families. Cities offer the most tourist attractions and facilities, particularly those with a great historical heritage and capital cities. Visiting a city can be done with a guide, on a tour bus, or according to the traveller’s imagination.

Visiting a city opens up new perspectives on others and enriches general knowledge; it helps to broaden horizons and escapes the traveller through difference and discovery. Unlike other travel destinations, cities offer a wide range of tourist attractions, making city breaks a real voyage of discovery.

The disconnection in city travel is achieved through this work of discovery. When you visit a city, you get away from it all through contact with different civilisations and cultures. As a result, city travel is more instructive and didactic than soothing, which sets it apart from other types of destination. Of the three types of destination we have listed, this is the most gruelling, but also the most instructive.

3- The ecological and social impact

Travelling from one destination to another, from one country to another, does not have the same ecological and social impact. To get a simple idea of the ecological and social impact of a trip, there are two rules that can be applied:

increasing the distance from your travel destination = increasing the ecological impact

poverty of the region you are visiting = increase in the social impact of your trip.

The rule about the ecological impact of your trip needs to be qualified according to the mode of transport you use, the type of accommodation you book and the way you eat. There are green forms of tourism, which care about the environment and monitor the CO2 emissions during your trip. These types of green tourism favour travelling in groups, using bicycles, and prefer accommodation in environmentally-friendly locations, as well as eating from pre-prepared trays rather than buying meals.

As well as distance, the choice of country or region to visit also plays a part in increasing the ecological impact of your trip. Because some countries and regions are more sensitive to ecological issues and are putting in place environmentally-friendly buildings and structures, they will have less of an ecological impact than other destinations.

The environment likes to develop in a natural way, without the addition of additives, and without destroying its surroundings. This is what preserves water tables and is beneficial for the ozone layer. Supporting environmentally-friendly destinations will not be the same from one destination to another, regardless of how far away it is.

The ecological impact of a trip is measured by the emission of the trip itself and by the impact of the trip in terms of environmental protection, taking these two factors into account when you travel will make every travel destination different.

As far as the social impact of your trip is concerned, it is said that tourism is a vector of development, and this is true for most regions. The value chain of a tourist activity, from the logistics of supply to the administration of the service, via the support activities, is a vector of employment and wealth in the region where it is located.

Regions that are heavily visited by tourists tend to have better access routes, whether by air, rail or tram, and tourism helps people get around the region. In addition, highly touristic areas have a more dynamic public life, with a strong interest in town planning issues.

Tourism is a major economic driver that relies on local authorities for its growth, making it a major social accelerator. The establishment of tourist sites in a region generates jobs and regional influence. It is an indicator of local attractiveness and the country’s prosperity. The positive social effects of tourism also include the creation of an identity around tourist sites, such as the Eiffel Tower and Paris, the Statue of Liberty and New York, and so on. Tourism brings people together, creates wealth and transforms the region. It is a major vector of social change that has an impact on the region in which it is practised.

4- The travel experience

The services provided during a trip to a tourist destination vary according to the destination you are visiting. The services you receive depend on the category of establishment you choose. This influences your travel experience, with the simple rule :

classification of your establishment = expected comfort during your trip

The gift of self

Giving of oneself means putting others first. On a trip, you get a lot from the people you see, and you also give of yourself to the people you see. Giving of yourself gives you a feeling of having done something good, and a sense of well-being. It gives meaning to everyday life, and helps to maintain personal and moral balance.

It is said that destinations in poor countries are more inclined to receive and give, whereas rich countries are less inclined to exchange.

Giving of oneself is a key issue in travel, it’s the reason why we love meeting new people, sharing our culture and discovering new cultures. It’s part of the driving force behind our motivation and an important part of travelling.

Cultural rapprochement

Another aspect of the travel experience is cultural rapprochement, the phenomenon that drives us to travel close to our genetic roots. A phenomenon that has become more and more widespread, cultural rapprochement changes the veracity of the travel experience. Travelling to the country of our genetic roots is not the same as travelling to other countries.

Getting closer to your genetic roots when travelling offers an authentic and unique travel experience. As well as giving the traveller a reason to travel, it provides them with cultural ties that will enable them to better understand and build their personality and develop as a human being.

Trips made as part of a cultural rapprochement offer an even more unique experience because they provide the opportunity to see people from our family tree again during the trip. Cultural rapprochement is positive for the traveller in terms of the human experience it brings, and all the more beneficial for the country of travel.

5- The randomness of encounters

You don’t meet the same people when you travel to different destinations. In fact, there are destinations where you will meet more people from your own nation, and there are destinations where you will meet fewer people from your own nation. The indicators are based on common sense, the language spoken in the country you are travelling to, the popularity of the destination among your peers, the proximity of the country you are travelling to, etc.

Meeting familiar people during your trip is a good thing. They help you get away from it all in a familiar setting. They forge relationships that are the start of friendships, as you experience the same things and share common ground. They allow you to share your travel experiences and gather those of others.

Random encounters change the way you feel about your trip, if not the trip itself. It’s always a good idea to meet fellow travellers during your trip; it’s a welcome change and helps you to experience the trip to the full.

Random encounters change the appreciation of travel destinations from one country to another and play a role in the way travel is perceived.

In conclusion, to answer the initial question, it is obviously not the same to travel to different destinations. Many elements differ, but the principle of travel, escape, experimentation and fantasy remains the same from one destination to another.

We enjoy travelling, that’s why we do it, we’ve been travelling for almost 800 years and we’re still doing it.