Since the market generally caters to the needs of the consumers, the whopping number of travel companies and travel guides speaks volumes about the need for traveling. With 195 official countries in the world and each having its own unique culture, customs and traditions, traveling is a surely a way of increasing one’s awareness of the lives of other people.

The main benefit of globe trotting is knowledge and awareness. However, people may travel for different reasons and those bitten by wanderlust only need an excuse to travel. Besides business, people may like to travel for leisure during holidays. They may like to move away from the crowds and din of city life to a more calm and quiet place such as hilly regions. They would like to travel just for fun and recreation or for exploring new places.

The billion-dollar tourism industry is am ample proof of how much people like to travel. Travel has its own charms for the nature lovers. Many of us can boast of staying in the lap of luxury but there are very few who can boast of staying in the lap of nature. Traveling gives the nature lovers a chance be surrounded by mist and clouds, hear a nightingale sing or build a sand castle on a seashore.

While discussing the reasons why people love to travel we cannot ignore the food lovers who like to sample the cuisine from different parts of the world.

The growing threat of global warming has lead to the emergence of the new concept of ecotourism. Ecotourism can be described as a nature-based tourism that helps in safeguarding the interest of our fragile planet. The eco-traveler visits natural areas while taking care not to affect the integrity of the ecosystem.

So generally speaking people travel for the following reasons:

• Business

• Leisure

• Exploring different places

• Sampling the cuisines

• Soothing their tired souls after hectic schedules.

• Being close to the nature

Besides these reasons there is another unusual reason and that is the curative effect of travel. An incident that proves the therapeutic effect of travel is about a man who had only one year left to live due to an incurable heart disease.

Instead of spending his time in misery he decided to go backpacking with his wife. In the absence of the stress of his demanding job and the daily grind of life the man’s health improved to the extent that he became normal.

Such incidences show how taking out some time to travel to some peaceful place can heal the body, mind and the soul. However, in order to make most of the healing effect of travel or to make the most of it, it is necessary to leave all the worries behind.