The Cancun Effect
(Or Is It the Cocoon Effect?)

Travel Psychology 105

Stan Sesser of the Wall Street Journal asks me in an email on 02/15/2007:

“Why might American tourists, afraid to go to some countries, have no fear in going to others, even though the countries might be identical regarding danger, terrorism, and so on.”

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Departures / Arrivals:
Time to Exit the Travelers Cocoon

Travel Psychology 104

Departures: Time to Insulate

According to Merriam/Webster, Online, a cocoon is

“something suggesting providing protection or in producing isolation, e.g., wrapped in a cocoon of blankets”

 And, Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defines cocoon as:

  “an attempt to disguise it from predators”

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The Airport Experience as a Rite of Passage!
or, The Air Travelers Survival Guide to the Airport Nightmare! 

Travel Psychology 103

You are about to depart on your dream trip of a lifetime, this summer. But instead of anticipating the excitement and adventure of your grand vacation, you find yourself focusing, instead, on the dreadful reality of having to face and deal with one of the roughest summers of air travel in recent history namely the airport departure nightmare!

Continue reading 103 →

Developing a Sense of Self through Travel
Fear / Exhilaration of Self

Travel Psychology 102

Sometimes we don’t really know who we are until we truly put ourselves to the test. Living comfortably, safely, and securely in our own cocoons, never taking chances, never venturing out, can we truly have a sense of who we truly are?

Continue reading 102 →