Why Travel? An Introduction

Abstract

This chapter lays out the need for a deeper exploration of our travel motivations, and a move away from the narrow derived demand focus of much transport policy, particularly in a future that will be shaped by environmental change and the increased likelihood of pandemic events. It argues we have a travel instinct and that travel has an intrinsic value. It summarizes the approaches of the diverse chapters in the book, highlighting that perspectives from across the arts and sciences show the need to place travel at the heart of our future thinking. The chapter argues that we must create places and policies that better satisfy our travel motivations and improve the quality of our travel and, thereby, our lives – without wreaking environmental harm on our planet.