4 places that remind me why travel matters

The writer visited Zambia, Alaska, Sicily and Venice to venture beyond her comfort zone

- Lebawit Lily Girma

My travel resolution in 2024 was less of a bucket list and more of a challenge: to travel to places that would push me out of my comfort zone. To be honest, I did not even know what that would entail at first. As a travel reporter, I generally feel at ease on the road.

With the clarity of hindsight, I can say that leaving my comfort zone in 2024 meant vacationing in a frozen tundra, swimming at the edge of the almost 110m-high Victoria Falls and visiting a destination synonymous with overtourism – an issue that I find myself pondering frequently.

I even braved a seaside writing retreat in Italy. If that sounds easy, imagine being an introvert and spending five days with an itinerary full of workshops and meals shared with people you have never met. All these experiences taught me a lesson. As the world shifts in dramatic ways and at a dramatic velocity, it is even more critical to seek out opportunities to understand others and share your respective stories. No matter where you go, you will almost always gain fresh perspectives when you step out of your comfort zone – whatever it may mean to you. That is where the magic of travel happens.

Here are the four places I visited in 2024 that reminded me of the power of travel to unite, teach, support local economies and connect people – with others and with themselves.

1 VENICE, ITALY

VENICE, ITALY Venice has become synonymous with overtourism, so I expected it to feel unwelcoming as well as overwhelming. But I decided, having reported on the city's challenges since 2020, that I ought to see La Serenissima for myself. My trip took place in May, just weeks after an entry fee for day-trippers went into effect.