Believe it or not, traveling has become an unfulfilling pastime for some people, so much so that they’re actually seeking skill development from their travels. Also known as skillcations, these trips ensure travelers come home with new talents and expertise to add to their resume.
What Is a Skillcation?
According to Amy Zhou, aka Amy is Alive, “skillcation is travel structured around learning a new skill.” The travel influencer coined the term on the podcast Solita, where she discussed various examples of skillcations, such as “bachata in the Dominican Republic, capoeira in Brazil, tango in Argentina, birdwatching in Puerto Rico,” as the podcast notes state.
“The more I’ve traveled, the more I’ve realized the modern tourism history reduces friction to the point [that] you can see everything but experience less,” Zhou said on the podcast episode, “Hate Being a Tourist? Take a ‘Skillcation’ Instead.” “By reducing friction and by giving you a hop on, hop off all-inclusive, they just don’t activate your curiosity.”
Skillcations, on the other hand, allow you to hone new skills and develop new interests/passions while discovering different parts of the world. For example, rather than attending yoga classes at your town’s studio, travel to India to learn the roots of the practice. Rather than drafting poetry at your local coffee shop, schedule a writer’s retreat in Europe to strengthen your craft.
“I think travel is less about what you see and more about how you experience that city and what it can teach you,” Zhou adds. “My travel is structured specifically around a hobby or skill I want to learn.”
Planning a Skillcation
Set Your Budget
Unfortunately, as appealing as the above vacations might sound, they’re likely costly for most average travelers. But by turning your trip into an opportunity to develop new skills, you can view it as an investment in your education and career. Determine what you’re willing and able to spend on your skillcation and set a realistic budget before proceeding.
Choose a Skill
Once you have a budget for your skillcation, you can begin to explore the different skills you might want to nurture. Are you interested in cooking, dancing, music, genealogy, etc.? Choose one skill you’re most passionate about, then select a destination that will help improve it.
For example, if you’d like to learn more about preparing Italian cuisine, book a trip to Bologna, aka the culinary capital of Italy, where you can attend workshops or classes by experts. If you’d like to learn how to surf, schedule a retreat at a Costa Rica surf camp. Just make sure the accommodations and the associated costs of skill development fit your budget.
Not every skillcation needs to be “bougie,” filled with expensive dinners and fancy accommodations. In fact, “living like a local” will help you learn more about the destination and its offerings.
Create a Loose Itinerary
While you don’t need to plan out every hour of your skillcation, you do want to create a loose itinerary that ensures you stay on track. The entire purpose of the trip is to hone a new craft. Don’t leave too much time for dilly-dallying under the sun or splurging on fancy drinks and dinners (though those can totally be part of the experience, too). Remember the “why” behind your skillcation, and book all necessary classes/courses in advance.
The post Travelers Are Ditching Traditional Vacations for ‘Skillcations.’ Here’s Why. appeared first on VICE.
