Venturers

wdt_ID	US Travel Destination	Top Travel Destination	Value for Money	Total Stars	Venturer
1	Alaska outdoor activities (trekking, kayaking, fishing, etc.)				1
2	Glacier National Park, Montana				2
3	Oregon				3
4	Key West, Florida & Keys				4
5	Monterey Peninsula, Northern California				5
6	Mesa Verde National Park/other parks, Colorado				6
7	Santa Fe, New Mexico				7
8	Sierras, Northern California				8
9	South Dakota				9
10	Idaho outdoor activities (biking, camping, fishing, hiking, etc.)				10
11	Flagstaff, Arizona				11
12	Utah outdoor activities (biking, climbing, rafting, etc.)				12
13	Puget Sound/coastal islands, Washington				13
14	Wine regions, Oregon				14
15	Hawaii				15

wdt_ID	Location	Top Travel Destination	Value for Money	Total Stars	Venturer
1	Cusco/Machu Picchu, Urubamba Valley, Peru				1
2	Antarctica				2
3	Australian wildlife/national parks				3
4	Kenya				4
5	Manitoba, Canada				5
6	South Africa				6
7	Quebec Province, Canada				7
8	Costa Rican national parks/nature reserves				8
9	Vietnam				9
10	Nova Scotia, Canada				10
11	Malaysia				11
12	Italian wine regions				12
13	Guatemala				13
14	Ushuaia/Tierra del Fuego, Argentina				14
15	Cyclades islands (Mykonos, Santorini, etc.), Greece				15

These ratings and rankings are based on evaluations by thousands of travelers.
Best Destinations, summarizes evaluations by all visitors on the degree to which they especially like the places they recently visited. Value for the Money, measures the degree to which all visitors feel they got good value for what they paid, not that it is a cheap place to visit. (Note: Most destinations receive better scores on the Great Destination scale than on Value for the Money.)

About the Venturers Travel Personality

Leisure travel occupies a central place in the Venturers life. Typical Venturers go to more places, more often and participate in more unique experiences than anyone else. That’s why I call them Venturers — someone who ventures forth very eagerly and excitedly. They fit in a small group. Only about 4% of all travelers share this extreme love of going to out of the way places and constantly seeking out of the ordinary adventures.

A Venturer would rather fly than drive on vacations because driving takes too much of the time spent at the destination pursuing the things they like to do. And they typically want to explore areas almost without a plan — and without a tour guide to discover the unexpected sights, sounds and culinary delights that every new travel experience can bring. They do not like to travel with a group or follow a rigid, pre-determined itinerary. If a Venturer ever joined an escorted tour, it probably was by accident. They would not willingly make that choice again. Venturers want freedom, glorious freedom, to follow their interests of the moment. They are happiest when unfettered and unrestricted by the dictates and commands of others.

Typically, Venturers like to visit relatively unknown and uncommon destinations long before travel writers have discovered them and encouraged hordes of people to come. They will even put up with inadequate hotels and food if they can be there before commercial development — and the crowds of tourists — consume the place. If an inn can’t be found, they might bed down in a sleeping bag. Above all, Venturers want a sense of spontaneity in their trips, a feeling that something new and fresh will happen every day, and perhaps several times a day. That adds a sense of joie d’ vivre and a hearty carefree feeling of enjoying life at its fullest to their travel experiences.

Unique cultures especially attract Venturers. The opportunity to meet people of different backgrounds, languages and social standards holds a special allure. Even when they don’t speak the language, a frequent occurrence for someone with their venturesome spirit, you’ll get around just fine. Sign language, a handful of words picked up, a lot of pointing (to pictures of where you want to go or of food they want to order), and even some laughing moments will help them get comfortably through just about every situation encountered.

Adventure travel also holds a special fascination, particularly what is called hard adventure experiences. These might include navigating a canoe down the Amazon, bicycling with a friend through the wine country of France, or trekking to villages in Nepal accompanied by a guide rather than as part of a tour group. Some of these trips can only be taken by those who are in good physical shape and could involve some element of physical danger. And, no trinkets or souvenirs. Instead, they buy authentic arts and crafts, clothes, or other reminders of their grand escapes. Everything must be real, with no sense of falseness.

What Venturers do on a trip, in many ways, is a reflection of their daily lifestyle. Again, the higher the score on the scale, the more they are likely to pursue the activities described above. They love to experiment with life. New products, especially technology, typically hold a special fascination. Venturers generally are the first among friends to own a large screen HDTV, a hybrid car, or experiment with the latest personal digital assistant (PDA) or the latest/newest cell phone. They’re willing to buy new products long before these become popular and more reasonably priced. The joy of discovery far outweighs the risks associated with purchases that don’t live up to their promise or that will soon become more reasonably priced after intense competition takes over in the marketplace. Searching, seeking, probing, looking for something new and different, always wanting something new in life — these are characteristics that friends and relatives would probably say are part of a Venturer’s personality, if an outsider asked about them.

This constant interest in what is new can also cause some problems. Venturers may experience difficulty in balancing their varied personal interests and hobbies to the point that at times they feel like their life lacks a central focus that can help provide a sense of direction and stability. Their boundless sense of energy, intellectual curiosity, and continual interest in new ideas can make it challenging to find someone who also views the life in so many varied ways. And others may not be able to match their energy level.

Perhaps most important, Venturers are relatively comfortable and at ease with the decisions they make. The low level of anxiety about how they manage life’s affairs adds to an aura of self-confidence that is evident to their circle of friends and helps make them relatively successful in their occupation and various other pursuits in life. Confidence breeds success because others will accept what is said and follow their lead. But, if a Venturer hasn’t found the right job, they may feel somewhat like a misfit. Others don’t quite seem to catch on to what they’re thinking. That feeling of having ideas others don’t understand often leads Venturers to go out on their own to start up new businesses. Many successful entrepreneurs share Venturers’ traits!

Most likely, Venturers convey a friendly personality to others, but, in fact, many times, they’d like to skip the next cocktail party or social gathering that some work associates or neighbors have planned. Small talk can bore them. And, somewhat surprising with their energy level, they can be reflective and contemplative at times. They can enjoy being alone, especially doing things by themself with no schedule or commitments. That’s also a formula for a truly great vacation. Just wander around and take whatever time seems warranted to explore the interesting sights of the day, or to pursue personal sports and other activities.

In conclusion, the Venturers travel personality indicates an interest in exploring more than average and are willing to take the risk of choosing a destination unknown to friends, which might turn out to be a less than satisfying vacation experience. They’re likely to read a lot of books and magazines to learn about where else they might want to go that is truly different from the last place visited. All in all, that’s a definition of a venturesome personality.