New Year’s Travel Resolutions for 2020

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It’s a brand new year, and that means it’s time to make resolutions. And while we may not stick to every resolution we make, it’s worthwhile to at least try. But research shows it helps if you’re goal is specific.

One of the most popular resolutions this year is to travel. More and more people are resolving to go places in the year to come. Are you one of them?

Do you have a specific travel goal in mind? Here are 15 travel resolutions to help make that happen for you this year.

Experiences over Things

Studies have shown that spending our money on experiences bring us greater, and longer-lasting joy than buying stuff does. That’s because having stuff is good, but it remains separate from us. Experiences become part of us. Our experiences shape who we are.

And one of the best experiences in life is to travel. Travel brings the promise of something unique and different than your normal. Even if its to a place you’ve been before, or to a place that is not far from home, just getting out of your routine is an experience.

Resolve to Travel This Year

With the “experience economy” being all the rage, more and more people are making travel resolutions. In a study conducted by offers.com, travel was third most popular resolution being made by people this year.

• Exercise more/lose weight – 36%
• Save money- 27%
• Travel – 18%
• Get a new job/hobby – 8%
• Find love – 7%
• Make new friends – 4%

In a state-by-state breakdown, travel was the most popular response by people in Montana, New York, Ohio, and South Dakota.

New Year’s Travel Resolutions

Deciding to travel is the first step. But like all resolutions, putting it into action can be more difficult. The key is to be specific. Instead of “I will eat healthier foods”, you can say “I will eat an apple every day”.

The same goes for travel. Instead of “I will travel more this year”, try telling yourself: “I will do _____ at ______ in _______.” Now just fill in the blanks.

I will learn to surf in Hawaii this summer.

With that in mind, here are 15 travel resolutions we came up with that you can put in motion this year to achieve your goal of traveling more.

1. Create A Travel Budget
2. Use ALL of Your Vacation Days
3. Check Off A Bucket-List item
4. Educate Yourself
5. Be A Tourist At Home
6. Travel for Health
7. Travel to Do Good
8. Challenge Yourself
9. Try Something New
10. Learn a Language
11. Cook New Foods
12. Unplug Yourself
13. Go Off The Beaten Path
14. Travel Spontaneously
15. Create Memories

1. Create a Travel Budget

Not all travel requires a lot of money, but making the decision to put aside money for travel can enable you to take the trips you’ve always wanted to. Just decide to put aside ______ dollars each _____ for travel. You can even use these ways to kick-start your savings to help get yours started!

READ: How to Successfully Complete the 52-Week Savings Challenge

2. Use ALL of Your Vacation Days

Your vacation shouldn’t just be not going to work. Whether it’s your weekends, holiday breaks, or your vacation time, resolve to use it all to experience more of the world around you.

Note: It doesn’t mean you have to have a plan for each and every off day. Resolving to use those days can help prompt spontaneous outings or trips as well.

3. Check Off a Bucket-List Item

We all have places we’ve longed to go, things we’ve always wanted to do, or see. Now is the time to start checking off that bucket list. This year, we’re finally taking that trip to Hawaii that has been on our bucket list for years.

Remember to be specific. If you’ve always wanted to run a 5K or a marathon, deciding when and where will help you visualize.

4. Educate Yourself

Travel is fun, but it can also be educational. And while you can learn a lot from a reading a book, or watching a film… nothing beats experiencing it yourself. This year, resolve to discover some history and culture.

I will learn more about ______ by visiting _______. You can even research and travel for the anniversary of the event or to a festival celebrating it.

5. Be a Tourist at Home

You don’t have to venture very far to find something fun to do. Exploring your own town, city, or state is something you can take more advantage of this year. I know my town has a museum that I’ve never set foot in. This year I can change that.

Maybe there’s a hotel you can book even though it’s down the street. Or maybe you can take a tour and hear what all the tourists are learning about your area.

6. Travel For Health

The World Health Organization defines healthy as “complete physical, mental, and social well-being.” So just saying you want to be healthy encompasses a lot.

You could check off all three of those boxes by resolving to hike part of the Appalachian Trail with my friends. The hiking covers the physical. The location gets you a connection with nature that is also good for your mental state. And doing it with someone else is the social part.

7. Travel to Do Good

Perhaps this is the year you’d like to do more charitable work. Helping others is always a great thing to do. And it can also be a great reason to travel. You can help others, while also visiting somewhere new.

This could be spontaneous, as in response to an unexpected need. Or you could plan this out well in advance with one of many volunteer organizations, such as pairing a visit to Walt Disney World with volunteering at the Give Kids the World Village.

8. Challenge Yourself

Travel can be a way to help yourself, as well. You can resolve that this will be the year you will face one of your fears, or step outside your comfort zone.

For some, traveling itself might be a source of anxiety. And taking a solo trip might be a nice challenge. Facing a fear of heights with riding a rollercoaster, or a claustrophobia with a cavern tour, or a visit to a zoo to face a creature that freaks you out.

The key is to pair facing the fear with the excitement of the traveling experience, so it outweighs the anxiety.

9. Try Something New

Along the same lines of challenging yourself. You might also want to try something new that doesn’t necessarily scare you or make you nervous. It might simply be having a new experience.

These may not be bucket list items, but just different things that are not something you’d ordinarily do.

If you normally fly, you can opt to take a road trip instead. You can camp instead of staying at a hotel. You can go to the beach in the winter!

10. Learn a Language

There are about 6,500 languages spoken around the world. Perhaps this year is the year to learn a new one. And what better way to practice that new language than to immerse yourself in it for a while?

Whether you travel to help you learn, or study in order to travel, adding a language is a great travel resolution.

11. Cook New Foods

One of the best parts of traveling is experiencing the different foods from the places you visit. If you find something you love, you can try to recreate it at home. Learning about a new cuisine is a great reason to travel this year!

Similar to languages, you can choose your destination and go there to discover the food. Or, you can discover a cuisine you love and then travel to place that’s famous for it.

12. Unplug Yourself

Getting away from it all has always been a reason to travel. But these days, we tend to take a lot with us. This year, resolve to “rough it”, not by camping out, but by disconnecting and unplugging from the noise of the internet and social media.

Give family the number of the hotel you’ll be at, so they have a way to reach you. Or get the number to your phone’s voicemail and resolve to only check it periodically. Then enjoy yourself without being interrupted by notifications.

And yes, you can still bring a camera.

13. Go Off The Beaten Path

It can be tempting to take the same trip as everyone else. But sometimes it’s more adventurous to get off the beaten path and explore without a tour group or by sticking to all the touristy-spots. This year, resolve to go in a different direction than everyone else and see what you find!

You could book an AirBnB and stay in someone’s home istead of a hotel. Use public transportation instead of an uber. Throw away the map and just wander to see what you discover.

14. Travel Spontaneously

Not everything has to be scheduled. That goes for travel, too. So leave After all, some of the best deals are often booked last-minute. So whether it’s by throwing darts at a map, spinning a globe, or pulling a destination out of a hat, resolve to let go and leave things to chance a bit!

If you’re not completely comfortable winging it, then consider letting someone else plan out the basics of your trip without telling you anything about it until it’s time to go. It will still be somewhat planned, but you’ll have that spontaneously feeling to it.

15. Create Memories

Traveling is about experiencing the world. Those experiences become part of you. It’s easy to say, “go make memories”, but what does that mean? Instead, resolve to create memories for a purpose.

For instance, you can plan a trip for a family reunion to reunite with relatives. You can take a couples-only or family trip, plan a road trip with friends, or maybe go solo and meet a new group of people.

Because sometimes it’s not about what you are doing, but who you’re doing it with.

What Are Your Travel Resolutions?

So what are your travel resolutions of the upcoming year? let us know in the comments. Yours just may inspire us or someone else!

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