People who travel are more interesting, study suggests

If you’ve been in what feels like an endless rut and are unsure of what to do with yourself, think about turning to travel. According to a new survey, physically getting yourself out of your comfort zone may be the answer to widening your horizons and newfound self-confidence.

The survey from Booking.com asked more than 15,000 of its users in 20 different countries to share their stories and views relating to their first time traveling.

The most common answer was that their experiences helped them meet new people, at 40 percent. Other answers included: discovering new types of food (43 percent), learning a new language (29 percent), and becoming inspired to learn about other cultures (29 percent).

A high majority (61 percent) agreed that those who are better traveled tended to be more interesting as compared to those who had never gone abroad, and 45 percent saw globetrotters as more likely to be successful.

One in ten participants mentioned that a first-time travel experience led to either a new relationship or work opportunity, proving that those who stepped out of their comfort zone had the potential to be rewarded for the leap of faith.

You think you have a travel story from hell? Try this one: The inaugural flight from Berlin’s new international airport is almost five years late, and no one can say when it might take off.

The bill for Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt—most people call it BER—has more than doubled, to some €5 billion, since construction began in 2006. And the delayed opening has wounded local restaurants as well as airlines Air Berlin Plc and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which had expected to expand routes from the capital. Instead, Germany’s biggest city has fewer overseas flights than Düsseldorf (with less than a quarter of Berlin’s population).