Ferrari or Shopping Trolley?

Don't answer too fast: "Which would make you happier, owning a Ferrari or taking time out to walk the Machu Picchu trail in southern Peru?" So asks the UK's Guardian in a travel piece pointed to today by WorldHum.com.

WorldHum's Jim Benning quotes this from the Guardian: "The Joneses next door might have the same Ferrari as I do, but they are unlikely to have taken a year off to drive a converted shopping trolley around rural China." I don't have a Ferrari, but I do have a travel-happy VW Westphalia van - sort of the US travel equivalent of a converted shopping trolley. And I wouldn't trade my VW-driven trip memories for all the Ferraris in China.

The Guardian story discusses something called "experience economy," evidently first referred to a '98 Harvard Business Review piece. Experience economy means that selling "experiences," like trips to China, wow consumers and make them want to buy. The research also apparently indicates that you really will be happier spending your dough on a memorable experience than a flashy car.

Travelers know that memories are priceless. I could make a sweet memory out of driving a Ferrari across I-70. Really fast. But then I would miss the roadside cafes and the little-big stuff that makes travel worthwhile... The moral of this story may be that you should think twice before you buy new stereo equipment -- what about setting the bucks aside for a trip to... well.. China? It may make you happier in the long run.