Today people are travelling more than ever before. Why is this the case? What are the benefits of travelling for the traveller?

More of us are going abroad more than we did in the past.

This

essay will suggest that cheaper air travel is the main reason for

this

and

then

submit that the main advantage is experiencing new cultures and becoming more open-minded. In the past, air tickets were only for the rich and famous because most salaries could not cover the price of a flight to a foreign country.

This

meant that the majority simply stayed at home or took their holidays domestically;

however

,

this

has all changed with the creation of budget airlines. Low-cost carriers,

such

as Ryanair in Europe or Tiger Air in Asia, have meant that anyone can save up and travel to a new country, with prices starting as low as $1.

This

has meant that there is far more intermingling across cultures leading to people becoming more accepting and tolerant. Intolerance was often blamed on people being ignorant of the people they disliked because they were a different religion or had different political beliefs, but

this

has slowly been eroded as we meet them and realise they are essentially just like us.

For example

, there was quite a lot of mistrust between ‘East’ and ‘West’ during the Cold War, but

this

has evaporated now we frequently visit each other’s nations. In conclusion, cheap travel by air has allowed us to see the world more than ever before and

this

can be seen as a good thing because it brings us all closer together and broadens our attitudes.