WHY TRAVELING IS IMPORTANT FOR PERSONAL GROWTH: A REVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL EVIDENCE
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Abstract
This paper examines how travel contributes to personal
growth across four key dimensions: self-confidence, cultural awareness,
problem-solving ability, and creativity. Using a systematic literature
review methodology, peer-reviewed studies in psychology, tourism
science, and cross-cultural communication are synthesised and critically
evaluated. The findings indicate that travel — particularly international
travel involving substantive cultural engagement — functions as a
powerful developmental context that produces measurable and often
lasting psychological change. These benefits are neither incidental nor
universal; rather, they arise from specific experiential conditions that
travel uniquely provides, including novelty, autonomy, and meaningful
intercultural contact. Implications for higher education, organisational
development, and individual well-being are discussed.
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References
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