Aussies are focussing on their core memory era: Capturing and sharing moments of significance – people, places and things that are bringing them joy and making a deep impact on who they are. This means, they’re also making sure they’re giving themselves chances to make new core memories.
Recent findings from KAYAK, which came from surveying more than 1,000 Aussies, found that travel plays a central role in almost everyone’s core memories (89%)*.
KAYAK has partnered with Olivia Molly Rogers – Australian media personality, mental health advocate, and travel enthusiast – to encourage more Aussies to make core travel memories this year, by sharing her own experiences and the inside scoop on why travel is so important to her and where she’s heading next.
The love of creating core travel memories kicked off at a young age
Some of my favourite travel memories are the ones with my family. Travelling together is such a great way to bond!
A travel core memory that I’ll never forget is my first trip overseas when I was around 15 years old. My siblings and I went with my Dad’s whole side of the family on a cruise around South East Asia – we spent time in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. I really loved exploring the countries, the different cultures and foods, and just taking it all in for the very first time – I think that trip is when I really fell in love with travelling.
Keeping an open itinerary is Olivia’s top travel tip
My top tip for planning a trip is to not make your itinerary too rigid. You never know who you might meet or a place you might come across, and if you have everything planned to the minute, then you could miss out on making some incredible, spontaneous memories.
Going with the flow is definitely how I approach travelling. I’m a bit more organised now as I’ve gotten older (thanks to KAYAK’s tools), but I don’t like to feel that there’s pressure for the experience to live up to an expectation – I really like to just see what happens!
When planning a trip, I often look to my friends for travel inspiration and will typically book a few things that I really want to do – like eating at one or two restaurants or shopping at a certain store – and I’ll have a list of landmarks or museums that I could head to if I wanted.
It’s all about trying new food and meeting new people for Olivia
Trying new food is something that I really look forward to while travelling, but the best thing about travelling for me is meeting new people. I really love having conversations with locals or other travellers and learning more about them – where they’re from, how they grew up, what their culture is like. I really like to challenge myself and embrace the city that I’m in, so those travel memories always end up being really special.
Olivia’s next travel destination
I’m always thinking about where I can head to next – travelling is definitely something that I make sure I prioritise in my schedule. I have a few trips planned right now, including going to Japan to enjoy a white Christmas and back to Adelaide to visit family pretty soon, but I’m most excited about going to Bali for a month later this year.
I’ve travelled to Bali a few times before – and if you know, you know because it’s always such a fabulous time – but I’m really excited to go there and feel like a local for a few weeks. I know that trip is going to end up becoming a core memory for me for sure!
Create your next core travel memory with the help of KAYAK’s Explore Tool.
