Around the World in Eighty Days is a renowned classic adventure novel by 19th-century French author Jules Verne. The protagonist, British gentleman Phileas Fogg, wagers £20,000 with friends that he can circumnavigate the globe and return to London within eighty days.Fogg and his companions embark on their journey around the world, traversing the Red Sea and Indian Ocean before crossing the Pacific. They endure separation, become wanted fugitives, and face relentless pursuit. They travel by every conceivable means of transport: steamships, trains, carriages, merchant vessels, sleds, and even elephants... At the novel's conclusion, the author poses this question: What did the protagonist, Phileas Fogg, ultimately gain from this arduous journey? The answer is: happiness.
When discussing dreams, "traveling around the world" is likely the top choice for many. Thus, the travel experiences of the "senior backpacker" in the news story sparked such a strong response—not merely praise and envy, but more people expressing their own helplessness and regret at being unable to realize their dream of world travel. Why does travel hold such appeal for so many? What psychological needs does the dream of traveling the world fulfill?
All human behavior stems from motivation. Motivation, a term from psychology, refers to the psychological tendency that initiates and sustains an individual's activities, directing them toward specific goals. Thus, the act of traveling is also determined by the underlying motivation for travel. Simply put, travel motivation refers to the internal driving force that triggers a person's intention to travel and determines where to go and what kind of travel to pursue.Humanistic psychology posits that motivation arises from human needs. These needs generate psychological tension, creating an internal driving force—motivation—which then sets action goals and prompts concrete behavior to satisfy the need, relieve psychological tension, and proceed to the next action. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory, proposed by humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow, categorizes human needs into six levels:
(1) Physiological needs: food, water, air, etc.;
(2) Safety needs: security, stability, order, and protection;
(3) Social needs (belongingness and love): affection, interpersonal relationships;
(4) Esteem needs: self-respect, personal reputation, honor, status, achievement;
(5) Self-actualization needs: Self-fulfillment, maximizing personal potential;
(6) Transcendence or spiritual needs (introduced in 1969 as Theory Z)
These six levels of needs develop sequentially from lower to higher. The higher the level of need fulfillment achieved, the greater the individual's sense of inner satisfaction and happiness.The first three tiers represent fundamental human needs insufficient to explain travel motivations. The higher-level needs in the latter three tiers often drive travel motives. Correspondingly, travel motivations determining human behavior can be categorized as follows: First, travel serves as an effective means to enhance self-image. Through various forms of social interaction, people make new friends, gain others' respect, and achieve positive social standing;Second, travel expresses the human desire for novelty and variety, pursuing the feelings of wonder, joy, freshness, and exhilaration gained during the journey. Third, travel helps people reconnect with nature and experience intimate contact with the natural world. Fourth, travel assists individuals in discovering their true selves and releasing the pressures of tense reality.
Indeed, travel—even the dream of "traveling the world"—satisfies modern psychological needs by establishing emotional equilibrium. This fundamental motivation drives most people's passion for exploration. Pack your bags and seek your true self—are you ready?