I don't disagree with the thrust of what you are saying, and I am particularly amused that in the age of almost infinite variation deliverable through the internet there is a kind of odd counter-signalling effect to avoiding that (I also like travel and have been doing it constantly for more than a year, though, so what do I know).
Describing physical fitness as "the new status-symbol" seems pretty bizarre to me, though. As a status symbol it probably predates humanity.
Physical fitness itself isn't a status symbol, per se. How people conduct their personal physical fitness is what has elevated it to a status symbol. Things like when, where, how often, how public, what activities/exercises, and even what they wear to work... that's the new status symbol.
A ridiculous recent example is the Trulia co-founder rowing to Hawaii with his wife for the cause of...
Describing physical fitness as "the new status-symbol" seems pretty bizarre to me, though. As a status symbol it probably predates humanity.