Thursday, February 5, 2009
Business Travel Romanticized
As someone who likes to travel, business trips seemed to me like the best opportunity in the world. I envied my dad who often traveled to some of the most amazing parts of the world on trips paid by his company. However, these trips often turn out to be dreadful experiences. Business travel is often romanticized by transportation companies in the media. There are many ads featuring happy businessmen strolling through airports and relaxing on planes then walking out into the sun on a beach in Puerto Rico. In reality, these trips can be nightmares. The ads always fail to mention the possibility of a delayed flight and having to wait hours on end at a gate waiting for the poor weather to pass over. Once on the plane, you may be seated next to some very obnoxious people with nothing to do except stay within the cramped area. Even if the destination of the trip is some exotic island, there is rarely any time to enjoy it while attending the all day business conference. Most people do not understand what really goes on during a business trip thanks to the romanticization of them by travel companies.
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2 comments:
Nice Post!
A lot of people seem to even select their occupations today based on how much traveling is done. Like you, when I was young I wanted to have a job similar to my father's because I thought that his trips to locations such as California and Texas were probably like a vacation every week. However, when I now ask my dad about his travel experiences, he states that he would actually rather stay home because it is less stressful, and allows him to spend more time at home with family. It is interesting that what most people romanticize is actually what a lot of people consider to be their least favorite part of jobs.
I would agree that when we grow up, things that seemed very desirable to us as kids are not as important when we have families of our own. My dad has spent a lot of time on business trips, and he never seems to enjoy his business trips like he would a family vacation.
I think that it can be romanticized, but also not, as it is a common subject of family struggle in t.v. shows and other stories.
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