In search of self: Why people are travelling to stay centred

IN JANUARY, Claire Tan quit her job of nearly 20 years. Disillusioned with the company’s leadership and beset by anxiety attacks, the banker booked a trip to South America, where she spent a month exploring remote villages in Patagonia and Peru, and “hanging out with llamas”. 

“I had to leave for my sanity,” she says. “There were so many changes over the past couple of years that even the management didn’t know what was happening. We were like headless chickens. I realised the job was no longer in line with my principles in life, and decided to find inspiration on how to be happy again, how to reset myself.”

Stories like hers are becoming common across the corporate world. An uncertain economy, return-to-work pressures and negative news cycles have created a hothouse of change and unpredictability, rattling the trust of employees in companies, leaders and humanity in general. In search of a new centre and clarity, many are turning to travel.