travel news definition

• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

Definition of travel

 (Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

transitive verb

Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

• peregrinate
• peregrination

Examples of travel in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'travel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English travailen, travelen to torment, labor, strive, journey, from Anglo-French travailler

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing travel

• travel light
• travel trailer
• travel sickness
• pre - travel
• travel agency
• travel agent
• see / travel the world

Articles Related to travel

Is it ‘traveling’ or...

Is it ‘traveling’ or ‘travelling’?

A tale of two variants

Noah Webster's Spelling Wins and Fails

Some of his biggest successes and defeats

8 Ways to Get Away From It All

Whether it's a jaunt or a junket, remember sunblock.

Dictionary Entries Near travel

Cite this entry.

“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of travel.

Kids Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

Middle English travailen "torment, labor, strive, journey," from early French travailler "torment, labor," from an unrecorded Latin verb tripaliare "to torture," from Latin tripalium "an instrument of torture," literally "three stakes," derived from tri- "three" and palus "stake, pale" — related to pale entry 3 , travail

More from Merriam-Webster on travel

Nglish: Translation of travel for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of travel for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about travel

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

8 grammar terms you used to know, but forgot, homophones, homographs, and homonyms, commonly misspelled words, how to use em dashes (—), en dashes (–) , and hyphens (-), absent letters that are heard anyway, popular in wordplay, the words of the week - mar. 22, 12 words for signs of spring, 9 superb owl words, 'gaslighting,' 'woke,' 'democracy,' and other top lookups, fan favorites: your most liked words of the day 2023, games & quizzes.

Travel Glossary: 100+ Terms, Acronyms & Definitions You Need To Know

This travel glossary contains more than 100 of the most common terms and acronyms you are likely to hear in the travel industry.

The travel niche has its own terms, abbreviations, and definitions.

As it can get complicated to understand them all, we created this complete travel glossary. 

You can either click on:

• A letter 
• Ctrl + f to use the search function

Note that we are still working on this glossary and we’ll update it frequently.

Abbreviation for American Airlines.

A Broken Backpack

A travel blog about long-term travel, adventure travel, budget travel, and more. You’re currently reading abrokenbackpack.com. At first, our blog was targeting backpackers and long-term travelers. Over the years, we have expanded our content with more travel tips for everyone.

Abbreviation for Air Canada.

Usually, an option that can come with an extra cost. Examples: optional luggage, optional meal.

Abbreviation for Air France.

Abbreviation for Air India.

Airalo is an online eSIM store that allows you to purchase eSIMs (digital SIM cards) in 190+ countries and regions around the world at affordable prices. Learn more about eSIM cards for travel .

An organization that provides air transportation.

A set of buildings, facilities and runways that are made for take-off, landing, and plane maintenance.

Airport codes

A combination of 3 letters is used to identify a specific airport. Examples: YUL identifies the airport in Montreal city.

Airport tax

Costs that an airline has to pay for departure and arrival in airports. These can vary from one airport to another and are usually included in a flight ticket price.

Practice in which you can order individual items from a menu instead of a set meal.

All-inclusive

A vacation that includes all the essentials (usually accommodation, food, and drinks). We commonly refer to an all-inclusive holiday or an all-inclusive resort.

An association or union between countries or airlines. Examples: Star alliance is an airline association regrouping several major airlines that collaborate to offer more flight connections and smooth stopovers.

Abbreviation for Aeromexico Cargo.

Abbreviation for Alaska Airlines.

Abbreviation for Royal Air Maroc.

Availability

The number of hotel rooms, or seats remaining.

Abbreviation for Finnair.

Abbreviation for Alitalia.

A bag that you use to carry things on your back. Usually large enough to carry all your things when you travel. Synonyms include “packsack” or “rucksack”.

A traveler or hiker who carries their belongings in a backpack.

Backpacking

A travel style that includes travels or hikes with a large backpack. Commonly, backpacking is a way to travel on a budget. The traveler may hike and camp outside for multiple days, or stay in hostels during their travels.

The basic cost of an airline ticket. Usually, this fare doesn’t include extra fees, taxes, or surcharges.

A bed and breakfast (often shortened to B&B) is a small hotel that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast.

Black Friday

A Friday at the end of November when you’ll find crazy travel deals on airfares, hotels, Amazon, etc. You can stay up to date with Black Friday deals here .

Step in which passengers are getting into the airplane. Usually, the airport staff calls passengers divided into different zones to board the plane.

Boarding pass

A paper ticket or a mobile ticket issues after check-in that allows you to board the plane.

Booking.com

An accommodation travel booking website with worldwide coverage comparing hotels, hostels, apartments and car rentals. You can book your hotels easily on Booking.com .

Booking number

Also known as a reservation number – a unique code including letters and numbers that confirm your reservation.

Bucket list

A travel expression used to define a set of destinations to visit or things to do in a country.

A bus travel booking website with worldwide coverage comparing bus route fares. You can purchase bus tickets on Busbud .

Business-class

A section that is usually between the first class and the economy class. The business class provides more amenities and services than the economy class. You can find a business class on planes or trains.

A cabin in a plane is the space inside the plane where passengers sit. A cabin in a ship is a room where a passenger sleeps.

Van that was designed for sleeping and road-tripping. Some campers prefer to sleep inside a van than in a tent. Also known as a camper van.

An activity that involves sleeping in a tent.

A captain in a plane is the pilot.

Carry-on baggage

A piece of luggage that you can bring along on the plane cabin. Usually, you’ll put this luggage in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you.

Checked luggage

A bigger piece of luggage that you don’t have access to during the flight. Usually, you’ll drop off your luggage at the airline counter before you go through security and customs.

A confirmation of your presence on a flight, train, or bus. Usually, you can check-in online or directly at the airport, bus station, or train station. Once the check-in is completed, you’ll get a boarding pass which can be issued electronically or on paper.

It can also be used in hotels. In this situation, the client goes to the hotel reception, presents identification documents, and receives a key to their hotel room.

A client leaves a hotel by bringing back the key on time at the hotel reception and paying for any remaining fees.

It’s a synonym of a bus.

A hotel staff member who helps guests organize transportation, reservations, or any special requests.

Connecting flight

A flight that includes a stopover and as a result, the passenger must change aircraft.

Culture is a shared system of symbols and meanings that allow people to communicate and interact with one another. It includes the customs, traditions, and values that are passed down from generation to generation.

Custom Tour

A custom tour is a personalized experience that is tailored to your specific needs. A custom tour can be created for any location, and can be customized to include any number of activities or attractions.

Cyber Monday

A Monday at the end of November or early December when you’ll find crazy travel deals on airfares, hotels, Amazon, etc. You can stay up to date with Cyber Monday deals here .

Direct flight

A flight that goes from an origin to a destination without stops, or connections.

A deck is a floor on a ship. Some cruise ships can have multiple decks.

Destination

The final stop on a travel itinerary. 

Type of rooms where you’ll find several beds or bunk beds. Usually popular in hostels because of their cheap rates.

Double room

A hotel room that had two double beds and that can accommodate between 2 and 4 people.

Exemption from import taxes. For example, in an airport, there’s a duty-free shop area where you won’t need to pay import taxes on products.

Early check-in

Early check-in is when you check in to your hotel before the check-in time.

Economy class

A section of the plane, bus, or train, with basic services and lower fares.

Electronic boarding pass

A virtual boarding pass that is usually on a mobile phone.

Another word for expatriate. A person who lives in a different country temporarily or permanently.

First class

The class with the most services – usually comes with more space, better meals, and premium services.

A fjord is a long and narrow inlet of the sea, usually flanked by steep cliffs.

Frequent flyer program

An airline loyalty program that allows you to collect points and transform them into vouchers or rewards.

G-Adventure

Adventure travel company that organizes small-group tours, expeditions and safaris around the world.

Area and door where passengers board their flight from or deplane at their arrival.

An establishment that provides accommodations to travelers.

Holafly is a website that allows you to purchase eSIM for your travels. You can read our complete Holafly review to learn more about it.

A budget accommodation offering shared dorms and private rooms. Very popular amongst budget travelers, backpackers and young travelers.

A popular airport where many airlines organize connecting flights to smaller destinations.

Immigration

An area where a traveler must present travel documents like their passport or visa in order to enter the country.

A plan, or route designed for a trip, usually in chronological order.

A feeling of tiredness felt by a person after flying across different time zones.

King-size bed

The biggest bed size there is.

A period of time between transportation connections, or stopover.

One part of a journey. For example, one flight out of a 3-flight route.

A small house or a part inside a large house where travelers sleep. Usually, it’s a synonym for guest houses or hotels.

The hotel is located next to the main roads and that is made for road trippers.

A vehicle that is designed for mobile living accommodation. For example, RVs, campervans, campers.

A traveler or passenger that doesn’t show up for a flight, hotel, or reservation without canceling the booking.

Point of departure.

Overbooking

A popular practice in which airlines sell more seats that they have available to compensate for no-shows. Unfortunately, this practice can create problems if all the passengers show up.

A document issued by a government that includes information about the identity, nationality, and visa of a traveler.

A word used as a synonym for passenger, mostly used in the travel and the tourism industry.

When staying in a hotel, a traveler can request a quiet room. Usually, this room is isolated or is in a quieter area.

Reservation

Action taken to book a flight, activity, or hotel room.

An area designed for massage, hot springs, steam baths, or saunas.

A building or area inside an airport. For example, an airport can be divided into multiple terminals so that passengers can know where their departure or arrival gate is located.

Moving to a better class of service, or accommodation.

A stamp or a sticker in a passport allowing you to enter a country for a specific amount of time.

Documents you can use to exchange for goods, accommodation, or services. Usually, the payments for these good, and services has already been made.

Synonym of travel in the French language.

A list of potential travelers that are not confirmed yet.

A software designed for digital nomads and online entrepreneurs who have a business in Estonia.

An expression used amongst young people that means You Only Live Once.

An establishment that displays, studies, and rescues wild animals.

MY TOP RECOMMENDATIONS

BOOK HOTEL ON BOOKING.COM

BOOK HOSTEL ON HOSTELWORLD

GET YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE

LEARN HOW TO START A TRAVEL BLOG

LEARN HOW TO VOLUNTEER ABROAD

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• March Madness
• AP Top 25 Poll
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Baby gorilla cuddled by mother at London Zoo remains nameless

A braking system ‘anomaly’ caused an American Airlines jet to exceed a Dallas runway, NTSB says

Federal officials want to know how airlines handle — and share — passengers’ personal information

Natural wonders. Napoleon’s exile. A remote island in the South Atlantic is now easier to reach

A critical Rhode Island bridge will need to be demolished and replaced

The American Museum of Natural History gave a tour Thursday of the museum’s new wing, the under-construction Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation (Oct. 27) (AP Video: Ted Shaffrey)

Tourism boom helps Greece face rising costs

Police say he got on a plane using a photo of a girl’s boarding pass. now he faces a felony charge.

A Danish hippie oasis has fought drug sales for years. Now, locals want to tear up the whole street

Oregon governor wants tolling plan on 2 Portland-area freeways scrapped

Intense rainfall sweeps across Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates, disrupting flights

US poet laureate Ada Limón to launch book and parks project ‘You Are Here’

JetBlue and Spirit are ending their $3.8 billion merger plan after a federal judge blocked the deal

Cambodia defends family relocations around the famous Angkor Wat temple complex

California ski resort workers tunnel their way into the office after getting 10 feet of snow

Alaska’s Iditarod dogs get neon visibility harnesses after 5 were fatally hit while training

Cheers to being crooked again. Quirky English pub bulldozed after a fire to be rebuilt as it was

Mexico crowns new ‘Queen of the Mountains’ as community reckons with recent mountaineering deaths

Checking a bag will cost you more on United Airlines, which is copying a similar move by American

Avalanche kills a Russian skier while 5 others are rescued at a resort in Indian-held Kashmir

United Airlines says after a ‘detailed safety analysis’ it will restart flights to Israel in March

London’s beloved and futuristic BT tower sold for $347 million to be turned into a hotel

Eiffel Tower operator warns the landmark is closed as strike turns visitors away for a second day

German labor union calls on Lufthansa ground staff to strike at 7 airports on Tuesday

Sweden: Police find dead person inside charred remains of a water park under construction

A loophole got him a free New York hotel stay for five years. Then he claimed to own the building

It’s about the movies, not politics. Berlin Film Festival jury pushes back on the uninvited party

London’s iconic underground map is getting an update, with 6 new names and colors

Flight attendants are holding airport rallies to protest the lack of new contracts and pay raises

Floats at Germany’s Carnival parades satirize leading political figures

American woman killed in apparent crossfire in a drug dispute at the mexican beach resort of tulum.

Mardi Gras beads are creating a plastic disaster in New Orleans

They call her the muse of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival. She insists she’s a missionary

As the Olympics loom, Parisians ask: Should we skip town? Games organizers work to win their hearts

Teen accused of shooting tourist in Times Square and firing at officer arrested after search

Storms dump heavy snowfall in northern Arizona after leaving California a muddy mess

Berlin’s zoo is mourning Ingo the flamingo, who died at what’s believed to be at least 75

Find anything you save across the site in your account

The Case Against Travel

By Agnes Callard

What is the most uninformative statement that people are inclined to make? My nominee would be “I love to travel.” This tells you very little about a person, because nearly everyone likes to travel; and yet people say it, because, for some reason, they pride themselves both on having travelled and on the fact that they look forward to doing so.

The opposition team is small but articulate. G. K. Chesterton wrote that “travel narrows the mind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson called travel “a fool’s paradise.” Socrates and Immanuel Kant—arguably the two greatest philosophers of all time—voted with their feet, rarely leaving their respective home towns of Athens and Königsberg. But the greatest hater of travel, ever, was the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa , whose wonderful “ Book of Disquiet ” crackles with outrage:

I abhor new ways of life and unfamiliar places. . . . The idea of travelling nauseates me. . . . Ah, let those who don’t exist travel! . . . Travel is for those who cannot feel. . . . Only extreme poverty of the imagination justifies having to move around to feel.

If you are inclined to dismiss this as contrarian posturing, try shifting the object of your thought from your own travel to that of others. At home or abroad, one tends to avoid “touristy” activities. “Tourism” is what we call travelling when other people are doing it. And, although people like to talk about their travels, few of us like to listen to them. Such talk resembles academic writing and reports of dreams: forms of communication driven more by the needs of the producer than the consumer.

One common argument for travel is that it lifts us into an enlightened state, educating us about the world and connecting us to its denizens. Even Samuel Johnson , a skeptic—“What I gained by being in France was, learning to be better satisfied with my own country,” he once said—conceded that travel had a certain cachet. Advising his beloved Boswell, Johnson recommended a trip to China, for the sake of Boswell’s children: “There would be a lustre reflected upon them. . . . They would be at all times regarded as the children of a man who had gone to view the wall of China.”

Travel gets branded as an achievement: see interesting places, have interesting experiences, become interesting people. Is that what it really is?

Pessoa, Emerson, and Chesterton believed that travel, far from putting us in touch with humanity, divorced us from it. Travel turns us into the worst version of ourselves while convincing us that we’re at our best. Call this the traveller’s delusion.

To explore it, let’s start with what we mean by “travel.” Socrates went abroad when he was called to fight in the Peloponnesian War; even so, he was no traveller. Emerson is explicit about steering his critique away from a person who travels when his “necessities” or “duties” demand it. He has no objection to traversing great distances “for the purpose of art, of study, and benevolence.” One sign that you have a reason to be somewhere is that you have nothing to prove, and therefore no drive to collect souvenirs, photos, or stories to prove it. Let’s define “tourism” as the kind of travel that aims at the interesting—and, if Emerson and company are right, misses.

“A tourist is a temporarily leisured person who voluntarily visits a place away from home for the purpose of experiencing a change.” This definition is taken from the opening of “ Hosts and Guests ,” the classic academic volume on the anthropology of tourism. The last phrase is crucial: touristic travel exists for the sake of change. But what, exactly, gets changed? Here is a telling observation from the concluding chapter of the same book: “Tourists are less likely to borrow from their hosts than their hosts are from them, thus precipitating a chain of change in the host community.” We go to experience a change, but end up inflicting change on others.

For example, a decade ago, when I was in Abu Dhabi, I went on a guided tour of a falcon hospital. I took a photo with a falcon on my arm. I have no interest in falconry or falcons, and a generalized dislike of encounters with nonhuman animals. But the falcon hospital was one of the answers to the question, “What does one do in Abu Dhabi?” So I went. I suspect that everything about the falcon hospital, from its layout to its mission statement, is and will continue to be shaped by the visits of people like me—we unchanged changers, we tourists. (On the wall of the foyer, I recall seeing a series of “excellence in tourism” awards. Keep in mind that this is an animal hospital.)

Why might it be bad for a place to be shaped by the people who travel there, voluntarily, for the purpose of experiencing a change? The answer is that such people not only do not know what they are doing but are not even trying to learn. Consider me. It would be one thing to have such a deep passion for falconry that one is willing to fly to Abu Dhabi to pursue it, and it would be another thing to approach the visit in an aspirational spirit, with the hope of developing my life in a new direction. I was in neither position. I entered the hospital knowing that my post-Abu Dhabi life would contain exactly as much falconry as my pre-Abu Dhabi life—which is to say, zero falconry. If you are going to see something you neither value nor aspire to value, you are not doing much of anything besides locomoting.

Tourism is marked by its locomotive character. “I went to France.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to the Louvre.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to see the ‘Mona Lisa.’ ” That is, before quickly moving on: apparently, many people spend just fifteen seconds looking at the “Mona Lisa.” It’s locomotion all the way down.

The peculiar rationality of tourists allows them to be moved both by a desire to do what they are supposed to do in a place and a desire to avoid precisely what they are supposed to do. This is how it came to pass that, on my first trip to Paris, I avoided both the “Mona Lisa” and the Louvre. I did not, however, avoid locomotion. I walked from one end of the city to the other, over and over again, in a straight line; if you plotted my walks on a map, they would have formed a giant asterisk. In the many great cities I have actually lived and worked in, I would never consider spending whole days walking. When you travel, you suspend your usual standards for what counts as a valuable use of time. You suspend other standards as well, unwilling to be constrained by your taste in food, art, or recreational activities. After all, you say to yourself, the whole point of travelling is to break out of the confines of everyday life. But, if you usually avoid museums, and suddenly seek them out for the purpose of experiencing a change, what are you going to make of the paintings? You might as well be in a room full of falcons.

Let’s delve a bit deeper into how, exactly, the tourist’s project is self-undermining. I’ll illustrate with two examples from “The Loss of the Creature,” an essay by the writer Walker Percy.

First, a sightseer arriving at the Grand Canyon. Before his trip, an idea of the canyon—a “symbolic complex”—had formed in his mind. He is delighted if the canyon resembles the pictures and postcards he has seen; he might even describe it as “every bit as beautiful as a picture postcard!” But, if the lighting is different, the colors and shadows not those which he expects, he feels cheated: he has arrived on a bad day. Unable to gaze directly at the canyon, forced to judge merely whether it matches an image, the sightseer “may simply be bored; or he may be conscious of the difficulty: that the great thing yawning at his feet somehow eludes him.”

Second, a couple from Iowa driving around Mexico. They are enjoying the trip, but are a bit dissatisfied by the usual sights. They get lost, drive for hours on a rocky mountain road, and eventually, “in a tiny valley not even marked on the map,” stumble upon a village celebrating a religious festival. Watching the villagers dance, the tourists finally have “an authentic sight, a sight which is charming, quaint, picturesque, unspoiled.” Yet they still feel some dissatisfaction. Back home in Iowa, they gush about the experience to an ethnologist friend: You should have been there! You must come back with us! When the ethnologist does, in fact, return with them, “the couple do not watch the goings-on; instead they watch the ethnologist! Their highest hope is that their friend should find the dance interesting.” They need him to “certify their experience as genuine.”

The tourist is a deferential character. He outsources the vindication of his experiences to the ethnologist, to postcards, to conventional wisdom about what you are or are not supposed to do in a place. This deference, this “openness to experience,” is exactly what renders the tourist incapable of experience. Emerson confessed, “I seek the Vatican, and the palaces. I affect to be intoxicated with sights and suggestions, but I am not intoxicated.” He speaks for every tourist who has stood before a monument, or a painting, or a falcon, and demanded herself to feel something. Emerson and Percy help us understand why this demand is unreasonable: to be a tourist is to have already decided that it is not one’s own feelings that count. Whether an experience is authentically X is precisely what you, as a non-X, cannot judge.

A similar argument applies to the tourist’s impulse to honor the grand sea of humanity. Whereas Percy and Emerson focus on the aesthetic, showing us how hard it is for travellers to have the sensory experiences that they seek, Pessoa and Chesterton are interested in the ethical. They study why travellers can’t truly connect to other human beings. During my Paris wanderings, I would stare at people, intently inspecting their clothing, their demeanor, their interactions. I was trying to see the Frenchness in the French people around me. This is not a way to make friends.

Pessoa said that he knew only one “real traveller with soul”: an office boy who obsessively collected brochures, tore maps out of newspapers, and memorized train schedules between far-flung destinations. The boy could recount sailing routes around the world, but he had never left Lisbon. Chesterton also approved of such stationary travellers. He wrote that there was “something touching and even tragic” about “the thoughtless tourist, who might have stayed at home loving Laplanders, embracing Chinamen, and clasping Patagonians to his heart in Hampstead or Surbiton, but for his blind and suicidal impulse to go and see what they looked like.”

The problem was not with other places, or with the man wanting to see them, but with travel’s dehumanizing effect, which thrust him among people to whom he was forced to relate as a spectator. Chesterton believed that loving what is distant in the proper fashion—namely, from a distance—enabled a more universal connection. When the man in Hampstead thought of foreigners “in the abstract . . . as those who labour and love their children and die, he was thinking the fundamental truth about them.” “The human bond that he feels at home is not an illusion,” Chesterton wrote. “It is rather an inner reality.” Travel prevents us from feeling the presence of those we have travelled such great distances to be near.

The single most important fact about tourism is this: we already know what we will be like when we return. A vacation is not like immigrating to a foreign country, or matriculating at a university, or starting a new job, or falling in love. We embark on those pursuits with the trepidation of one who enters a tunnel not knowing who she will be when she walks out. The traveller departs confident that she will come back with the same basic interests, political beliefs, and living arrangements. Travel is a boomerang. It drops you right where you started.

If you think that this doesn’t apply to you—that your own travels are magical and profound, with effects that deepen your values, expand your horizons, render you a true citizen of the globe, and so on—note that this phenomenon can’t be assessed first-personally. Pessoa, Chesterton, Percy, and Emerson were all aware that travellers tell themselves they’ve changed, but you can’t rely on introspection to detect a delusion. So cast your mind, instead, to any friends who are soon to set off on summer adventures. In what condition do you expect to find them when they return? They may speak of their travel as though it were transformative, a “once in a lifetime” experience, but will you be able to notice a difference in their behavior, their beliefs, their moral compass? Will there be any difference at all?

Travel is fun, so it is not mysterious that we like it. What is mysterious is why we imbue it with a vast significance, an aura of virtue. If a vacation is merely the pursuit of unchanging change, an embrace of nothing, why insist on its meaning?

One is forced to conclude that maybe it isn’t so easy to do nothing—and this suggests a solution to the puzzle. Imagine how your life would look if you discovered that you would never again travel. If you aren’t planning a major life change, the prospect looms, terrifyingly, as “More and more of this , and then I die.” Travel splits this expanse of time into the chunk that happens before the trip, and the chunk that happens after it, obscuring from view the certainty of annihilation. And it does so in the cleverest possible way: by giving you a foretaste of it. You don’t like to think about the fact that someday you will do nothing and be nobody. You will only allow yourself to preview this experience when you can disguise it in a narrative about how you are doing many exciting and edifying things: you are experiencing, you are connecting, you are being transformed, and you have the trinkets and photos to prove it.

Socrates said that philosophy is a preparation for death. For everyone else, there’s travel. ♦

New Yorker Favorites

Why facts don’t change our minds .

How an Ivy League school turned against a student .

What was it about Frank Sinatra that no one else could touch ? 

The secret formula for resilience .

A young Kennedy, in Kushnerland, turned whistle-blower .

The biggest potential water disaster in the United States.

Fiction by Jhumpa Lahiri: “ Gogol .”

Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker .

By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

By Sam Knight

By Wyna Liu

By Clare Malone

By Adam Gopnik

More From Forbes

What is bleisure travel, and how is it transforming the hospitality industry.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Part work, part vacation. That’s the idea behind bleisure travel, a pandemic-fueled trend with ... [+] staying power.

• Bleisure travel, combining business and leisure, is on track to take over traditional business travel.
• The change creates a new type of traveler who is neither a business traveler or a carefree vacationer but a combination.
• The hospitality industry can adapt by offering new services and amenities that make it easy for travelers to move from work to fun.

Time in the boardroom paired with time at the beach. Part work, part vacation. That’s the idea behind bleisure travel, a pandemic-fueled trend with staying power.

What is Bleisure Travel?

As the name implies, bleisure is part business travel, part leisure travel. It’s combining a work trip with an extended vacation before, during or after the work event.

With more people working remotely because of the pandemic and a surge of people starting to travel again, bleisure has seen tremendous growth in recent months.

Bleisure was growing before the pandemic but has taken off recently. It’s poised to take over traditional business travel in 2022 and beyond. 89% of people plan to add personal vacation time to their business travel this year—many of whom will bring family and friends along.

And it’s easy to see the appeal, especially after a tumultuous few years. People can travel for a conference or event and then spend an extended vacation in the area while they work remotely.

What Does it Mean for the Hospitality Industry?

Best Travel Insurance Companies

Best covid-19 travel insurance plans.

After a challenging past few years, bleisure travel opens the door to new opportunities in hospitality and creates a new type of traveler, one who is there just for business or just for fun. With this new type of travel, hospitality companies have the chance to adjust and tailor their services. Here are four impacts and opportunities of bleisure travel:

Turn Business Travelers into Loyal Guests

Most bleisure travelers stay at the same place for the work and leisure parts of their trips. That means that hotels traditionally associated with business travelers have a new opportunity to showcase their relaxing sides, deliver great experiences and create loyal guests. These hotels can entice business guests with tour packages and pre-planned itineraries, as well as amenities and services tailored to the family and partners who come along.

Blending Workspaces with Relaxation

Many bleisure travelers are still working remotely and need a place to check in. A growing number of hotels are adding flexible workspaces and meeting rooms. But travelers also need a place to unwind and unplug so they don’t feel the need to stay connected during their leisure travel. Hospitality companies can tap into the need for relaxation by making it easy for travelers to compartmentalize and step away from their responsibilities.

Showcase the Location

It’s not just about traveling for a meeting anymore. It’s about experiencing the destination. In many cases, bleisure travelers are willing to spend more on dining, entertainment and tours because their company paid for their flights. But bleisure travelers may not have time to research everything beforehand. For these travelers, ease is crucial. Hospitality companies can partner to create immersive experiences like full-day tours and well-rounded excursions.

Update the Travel Schedule

Business travelers are known to only stay in a location during the week. But bleisure travelers stay longer and through the weekend, which shakes up weekly booking patterns. There’s no longer a distinct line between business travelers during the week and leisure travelers on the weekend. The best hospitality companies serve all types of customers throughout the week and are prepared to provide tailored service and recommendations, no matter the day.

After a tumultuous few years, the hospitality industry is ripe for disruption. And bleisure travel might just be the reason things change for the better.

Blake Morgan was called The Queen of Customer Experience by Meta. She is a globally recognized keynote speaker and the author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future . Read her free ebook: Digital Transformation In A Post-COVID World - 5 Key CX Strategies .

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Port of Baltimore suspends ship traffic after bridge collapse: What it means for travel

Travel is being impacted by Tuesday’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse along Interstate 695 in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Drivers were immediately directed to take alternate routes through the city, following the early morning incident. What’s less clear is what the bridge collapse may mean for upcoming cruises in and out of Baltimore.

“Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore is suspended until further notice,” the Port of Baltimore posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Live Updates: Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses after ship hits it; construction crew missing

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., whose district includes the bridge and the port, called the collapse an “unthinkable horror” and said he had spoken with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the White House. 

Learn more: Best travel insurance

“They are responding with all of the assets at their disposal,” he said in a statement. “Our prayers right now are for the missing individuals and victims of this tragedy. We thank God for the effective service of our first responders.”

Here’s what we know.

Which cruises go to Baltimore?

Several major cruise lines serve Baltimore. According to the Cruise Lines International Association, the industry’s leading trade group, published itineraries in the 2024 calendar year include a dozen ships making 115 stops in Baltimore.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragedy and collapse of the Key Bridge that occurred last night and extend our support and heartfelt prayers to all those impacted,” CLIA spokesperson Anne Madison said in an emailed statement. “We join everyone in extending our thanks and appreciation to the first responders and emergency workers in Baltimore, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other professionals who are working with one goal in mind—to save lives. We are closely following this situation.”

Royal Caribbean and Carnival have upcoming sailings that could be impacted by the bridge collapse. 

Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas has a roundtrip itinerary scheduled to depart Baltimore on April 12, according to the cruise line’s website. “We are deeply saddened by the tragedy and collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and extend our heartfelt prayers to all those impacted,” a spokesperson for the line said in an email. “We are closely monitoring the situation, and our port logistics team is currently working on alternatives for Vision of the Seas’ ongoing and upcoming sailings.”

 Carnival’s website shows Carnival Pride and Carnival Legend also have sailings into or out of Baltimore set for April. 

“Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic accident. It is premature for us to comment on possible impacts to upcoming sailings,” a Carnival spokesperson told USA TODAY.

American Cruise Lines has roundtrip sailings from Baltimore scheduled in May, according to its website.

“We will monitor the situation and make adjustments to future cruises if needed, but at the present time our schedules remain unaffected, and our thoughts remain with those affected by the immediate situation and rescue efforts underway,” an American Cruise Lines spokesperson told USA TODAY.

Norwegian Cruise Line doesn’t appear to have any Baltimore sailings until September on Norwegian Sky . The line did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on potential itinerary changes.

Alternate routes for the Baltimore bridge

Most drivers can take Interstate 95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or Interstate 895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) to avoid the collapsed bridge. However Maryland Transportation Authority notes there are some exceptions .

Vehicles carrying hazardous materials, including more than 10 pounds of propane, are not allowed in the tunnels. Additionally, vehicles more than 13-feet and 6-inches high or 8-feet wide may not use the 1-895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Vehicles more than 14-feet and 6-inches high or 11-feet wide may not use the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel. 

Those vehicles should use the western portion of I-695 instead.

Election 2024 latest news Biden, Harris visiting N.C. as campaign puts emphasis on South

President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday to give remarks on health care, the same day the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging a key abortion drug. Biden and Harris are also scheduled to attend a campaign fundraiser in the state, a presidential election battleground.

Here's what to know:

Here's what to know, live coverage contributors 27.

Just now Just now

19 min ago 19 min ago

40 min ago Reporting from Oakland, Calif. 40 min ago

45 min ago Reporting from Oakland, Calif. 45 min ago

1 hour ago 1 hour ago

• Election 2024 latest news: Biden, Harris visiting N.C. as campaign puts emphasis on South Just now Election 2024 latest news: Biden, Harris visiting N.C. as campaign puts emphasis on South Just now
• Trump reels from competing court decisions as trials disrupt campaign March 25, 2024 Trump reels from competing court decisions as trials disrupt campaign March 25, 2024
• IVF ruling, abortion debate shape battle lines in Alabama special election March 25, 2024 IVF ruling, abortion debate shape battle lines in Alabama special election March 25, 2024

1 hour ago Reporting from Oakland, Calif. 1 hour ago

2 hours ago 2 hours ago

11:52 a.m. EDT 11:52 a.m. EDT

11:35 a.m. EDT 11:35 a.m. EDT

11:21 a.m. EDT 11:21 a.m. EDT

11:01 a.m. EDT 11:01 a.m. EDT

10:44 a.m. EDT 10:44 a.m. EDT

10:22 a.m. EDT 10:22 a.m. EDT

10:04 a.m. EDT 10:04 a.m. EDT

9:46 a.m. EDT 9:46 a.m. EDT

9:24 a.m. EDT 9:24 a.m. EDT

8:41 a.m. EDT 8:41 a.m. EDT

8:17 a.m. EDT 8:17 a.m. EDT

8:00 a.m. EDT 8:00 a.m. EDT

7:38 a.m. EDT 7:38 a.m. EDT

7:19 a.m. EDT 7:19 a.m. EDT

7:00 a.m. EDT 7:00 a.m. EDT

6:44 a.m. EDT 6:44 a.m. EDT

6:30 a.m. EDT 6:30 a.m. EDT

6:15 a.m. EDT 6:15 a.m. EDT

6:00 a.m. EDT 6:00 a.m. EDT

Election 2024

Get the latest news on the 2024 election from our reporters on the campaign trail and in Washington.

Who is running? President Biden and Donald Trump both secured their parties’ nominations for the presidency , formalizing a general-election rematch.

Key issues: Compare where the candidates stand on such issues as abortion, climate and the economy.

Key dates and events: From January to June, voters in all states and U.S. territories will pick their party’s nominee for president ahead of the summer conventions. Here are key dates and events on the 2024 election calendar .

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of travel in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

travel verb ( MAKE JOURNEY )

• I like to travel but, then again, I'm very fond of my home .
• It's often quicker to travel across country and avoid the major roads altogether .
• Passengers without proper documentation will not be allowed to travel.
• The elderly travel free on public transport .
• We like to travel in the autumn when there are fewer tourists .
• The tragedy is that cultures don't always travel well, and few immigrant groups can sustain their culture over the long term .
• around Robin Hood's barn idiom
• baggage drop
• communication
• first class
• peripatetically
• public transportation
• super-commuting

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

travel verb ( MOVE )

• The objects travel in elliptical orbits .
• In 1947, a pilot flying over the Cascades saw nine metallic flying objects traveling at an estimated 1,200 miles per hour .
• The elevator traveled smoothly upward .
• White light separates out into its component wavelengths when traveling through a prism .
• As the material travels through the winding machine , excess liquid is squeezed out by rollers .
• Lead dust travels easily from hands to mouth and can't be seen .
• body English
• kinetic energy
• recirculate
• recirculation
• repair to somewhere

travel verb ( BREAK RULE )

• foul trouble
• free-throw lane
• free-throw line
• run-and-gun

travel noun ( ACTIVITY )

• They offer a 10 percent discount on rail travel for students .
• The price includes travel and accommodation but meals are extra .
• His work provided him with the opportunity for a lot of foreign travel.
• The popular myth is that air travel is more dangerous than travel by car or bus .
• Passes are available for one month's unlimited travel within Europe .
• break-journey
• circumnavigation

travel noun ( MOVEMENT OF OBJECT )

• It can be difficult to predict the travel of smoke from smouldering fires .
• The travel of the bullets and blood spatter showed that he was lying on the ground on his side when he was shot .
• This seemed to prove that light has a finite speed of travel.
• Striking the ball when the clubhead is already past the lowest point of its travel gives a slight overspin.
• The actuator then rotates its output shaft to the extremes of its travel.
• bring someone on
• non-competitor
• park the bus idiom
• play big idiom
• step/move up a gear idiom

travel | Intermediate English

Travel | business english, examples of travel, collocations with travel.

These are words often used in combination with travel .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

Translations of travel

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

something dangerous or serious, such as an accident, that happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs fast action in order to avoid harmful results

Paying attention and listening intently: talking about concentration

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• travel (MAKE JOURNEY)
• travel light
• travel (MOVE)
• really travel
• travel (BREAK RULE)
• travel (ACTIVITY)
• travel (MOVEMENT OF OBJECT)
• Business    Verb Noun
• Collocations
• Translations
• All translations

Add travel to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

Politics live: Double departure forces Sunak into mini-reshuffle - and one resignation 'is particularly big'

Two ministers have joined the exodus of Tory MPs ahead of the election, forcing Rishi Sunak into a mini-reshuffle. It comes on the day parliament breaks for the Easter recess, meaning the deadline has passed for the prime minister to call a general election for 2 May.

Tuesday 26 March 2024 19:09, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

• Coming up on Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge at 7pm
• PM forced into mini-reshuffle after resignations
• Armed Forces minister quits and will stand down at election
• Skills minister also joins Tory exodus - taking total to 63 MPs
• Sam Coates: One of these departures is a particularly big moment
• PM asked about Truss's 'deep state' claims
• Deadline passes for Sunak to call 2 May election
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler  and (earlier)  Ben Bloch , Emily Mee , and Brad Young

Leo Docherty has just been appointed the Armed Forces minister after the departure of James Heappey was confirmed earlier today.

Luke Hall has been appointed as an education minister, in the wake of Robert Halfon's departure, which was announced moments after Mr Heappey.

Additionally, the following appointments have just been confirmed:

• Nus Ghani is now the minister for Europe in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office;
• Kevin Hollinrake has become minister of state in the Department for Business and Trade; 
• Alan Mak is now parliamentary under-secretary of state jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office. 

Until his mini-reshuffle, the prime minister's priority today was the Liaison Committee, where he faced questions from parliament's select committee chairs.

It was there Rishi Sunak claimed UK's approach to China is "more robust" than its allies, as he continues to face calls to use more aggressive language to describe Beijing in the wake of two cyberattacks.

The prime minister said suggestions the government was not taking strong action against China were "completely and utterly wrong".

Business and Trade Committee chair Liam Byrne challenged Mr Sunak that where allies acted on China, the UK was merely "thinking about it".

Read more from our political reporter  Alexandra Rogers :

Harlow is one of the new towns built after the Second World War, in Essex, known for being a bit unglamorous and having lots of roundabouts.  

I actually really love Harlow. I lived there for six months when I was 21 and training to be a journalist and I also love the people who live there, who don't take any nonsense.

So it makes total sense to me that Harlow is a bellwether town - the party chosen by the people there typically goes on to form the government.

It swung to Labour in 1997, then Conservative in 2010, and now the former have it keenly in their sights again.

It's no coincidence that when I went on the road with Keir Starmer a couple of weeks ago, he chose to visit a school in Harlow.

Today, though, the Conservative MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon, has quit government and announced he's standing down at the next election.

In his resignation letter, he says it's simply time to step down.

But we know the reality: Mr Halfon is an MP deeply embedded in his constituency and he knows the way Harlow is swinging.

It's a similar story for James Heappey, albeit in a very different place: Wells, a cathedral city in picturesque Somerset. 

He's officially quit as Armed Forces minister today with a parting shot over defence spending, and is also standing down at the election. 

It's the Lib Dems this time with their eyes on his 9,000-vote majority.

Two very different MPs in two very different parts of the country telling a very similar story about the declining electoral prospects of the Conservative Party.

Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge   is live now on Sky News.

The fast-paced programme dissects the inner workings of Westminster, with interviews, insights, and analysis - bringing the audience into the corridors of power.

Sophy will be joined by  David Johnston , Tory MP and the minister for children, families, and wellbeing.

On Sophy's panel tonight are:

• Caroline Flint , former Labour MP and housing minister;
• Nimco Ali , CEO of the Five Foundation, a global partnership to end female genital mutilation, and an ex-government adviser.

Watch Politics Hub  from Monday to Thursday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on the  Sky News website  and  app  or on  YouTube .

If you've checked in with our live blog on the war in Ukraine today, you might have seen the head of Russia's FSB suggest Britain and the US may have worked with Kyiv to carry out the terror attack on a Moscow concert hall last weekend.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility and the US has said its intelligence indicates ISIS-K - an Afghan branch of IS - was responsible.

Ukraine has also denied any involvement - and now Lord Cameron has moved to further discredit the FSB allegation.

The foreign secretary said: Russia's claims about the West and Ukraine on the Crocus City Hall attack are utter nonsense. 

"We support US statements which make clear that Daesh (IS) bears sole responsibility for this attack."

Four men have appeared in court accused of being the gunmen, all of them from Tajikistan.

More than 130 people were killed in the attack.

Follow live updates on the war in Ukraine here:

In the last half-hour, MPs have wrapped up in the House of Commons and will be heading back to their constituencies for the three-week Easter break.

Notably, the start of recess means there can officially no longer be an election on 2 May, the same day as the local elections.

Rishi Sunak had ruled this out in an interview this month but, had he changed his mind, the latest he could have called it is today.

That's not to say we are any closer to an answer on when the election could be… October? November? Maybe the summer?

Right now, it's anyone's guess.

Jonathan Gullis has just been appointed deputy party chairman, in a busy day of resignations and hires for the Conservative Party.

He replaces Luke Hall, who has just become an education minister in place of Robert Halfon, who resigned today.

Our flagship weeknight politics show Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge will be live on Sky News from 7pm. 

Sophy will be joined by David Johnston , Tory MP and the minister for children, families, and wellbeing.

Watch Politics Hub from Monday to Thursday at 7pm on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on the  Sky News website  and  app  or on  YouTube .

"I am with you at present, but soon I shall not be. 

"I am not coming to the Shire. You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. 

"Do you not yet understand? My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to rights, nor to help folk to do so. 

"And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. 

"You are grown up now. Grown indeed very high; among the great you are, and I have no longer any fear at all for any of you."

In case you're wondering what such a profound, inspirational passage is doing here in Politics Hub, we have an outgoing minister's fondness for Lord Of The Rings to thank.

Robert Halfon, the now former minister for apprenticeships and skills, quoted the great wizard Gandalf in his resignation letter to the prime minister today.

His choice of quote no doubt also refers to his decision to stand down as MP for Harlow at the election after 14 years in the job.

Though if the polls are to be believed, Mr Sunak will in fact need all the help he can get if he's to conjure up a Tory victory and defeat Labour (not Sauron) whenever the election arrives.

He might not have an all-powerful ring, but as our chief political correspondent Jon Craig noted earlier, maybe his ring-binder will do the trick... ( see 13.40 post )

The government has long been planning a new recycling scheme that would see people recoup a small deposit when they return single-use bottles and cans.

It's been in development at the environment departmental for seven years and was in the 2019 Tory manifesto.

Ministers had hoped 2025 would be the year it finally launches, after criticism from the drinks industry saw it pushed back from this year, but 2027 has now been mooted as more likely.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said work to ensure the scheme was aligned between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland was also proving a drag on proceedings.

2025 deadline 'not realistic'

"Given this balance between the benefits of the scheme versus the benefits of having something interoperable, I don't think 2025 is now realistic and I don't think business would view it as realistic," he said.

"But I suspect if I was pushed on it, a sort of 2027 deadline is probably more likely."

Mr Barclay was taking questions at the Environment, Farming, and Rural Affairs Committee before MPs head off for their Easter break.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free