'Travel is the best remedy': Heal your broken heart on a breakup trip
When Lauren Wysocki, a yacht stewardess in her 20s , and her deckhand boyfriend broke up, she felt hopeless and alone. But when the opportunity to travel beyond her boat duties in the Caribbean came up, she leapt at the chance to be more empowered.
Yes, breaking up is hard to do. But what if it didn't have to be?
That's where Breakup Tours come in. It's an app devoted to helping you heal after having your heart broken — with travel and new experiences as the key.
"We believe travel is the best remedy for getting over a breakup," founder Stephen Chung told USA TODAY. "It gives you a chance to be out of your daily routine and to clear your mind. It could be a nice distraction and also a fun one to help you embrace a new life and better self."
Breakup Tours: What exactly is it?
The Breakup Tours app, free to download and available on the App Store and Google Play, personalizes a travel itinerary for you based on goals you have. You can answer questions via the "travel planner." Users can choose whether they are looking to "get over my ex," "live a happy single life" or "be ready for the next relationship."
The app will also curate experiences potentially out of your comfort zone and experience new types of adventures.
One of the app's best-selling activities is an appropriate one: Share your breakup story at a bar in Taipei, Taiwan, and have a DJ handpick a song for you (for about $17). Other experiences include sandal making in Tokyo, rock climbing in Taipei, Taiwan, and a tour of a Buddhist zen temples in Kyoto, Japan, among others that vary in cost. The app takes a cut of the payment from the customer and has a co-brand campaign.
How many people use it?
The app launched in Hong Kong in November 2019 and has more than 22,000 downloads and 10,000 registered members, according to Chung. Users should note that some portions of the app aren't in English. The app is welcome to all ages.
People can access it from anywhere, including the U.S., though the tours are mainly geared toward China, Japan and Thailand. (It's unclear if any of these tours have been affected by the coronavirus.) Enable the "Circle of Travelers" function to connect with fellow brokenhearted people on the app, including sharing travel interests and breakup stories.
A popular function is the app's "Breakup Tours Listener" function, where users can share breakup stories and have real people chat with them about their relationship issues.
"We want our members to always feel like we are by their side instead of a one-off transaction engagement," Chung said.
If I haven't gone through a breakup, can I still go on a breakup tour?
"Breaking up is not just about ending relationships between couples," Chung said. "It can be having a hard time with yourself or whenever you feel vulnerable or heartbroken. We are working to be the one platform that helps people go through these hard times in life."
But those who have gone through a breakup could reap more rewards from the app. It launched "Single Care Plus" this Valentine's Day (just over $192), guaranteeing the user a round-trip air ticket a year from now. If you're in a relationship this time next year (and can prove it with a photo of you kissing your beau), you'll receive two round-trip air tickets. The lovebirds can then pick dates and travel destinations. The service is first-come, first-serve.
Wysocki didn't go through Breakup Tours but absolutely recommends traveling in the wake of a breakup.
In short: We're sorry if you've been dumped in recent days, but maybe the answer to your problems is just one app download away.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Breakup travel: Get over your breakup by going on a trip
