TEDx Talk: What It Means to Be a Good Traveler
Learn how world travelers are opening their eyes to authentic tourism. Explore the three pillars of authentic travel and learn how to become a better traveler in the process.
Why This TEDx Talk Matters Right Now
Mark Twain famously said that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” While we often equate travel experiences with good outcomes and self-improvement, the tourism industry is currently hurting some of the world’s most popular destinations.
- 6 out of 10 apartments in Venice, Italy, are considered “tourist only rentals,” leaving less than half of all available housing to residents.
- Barcelona receives 16 million annual visitors, about 10 times the population.
- In 2018, Maya Bay in Thailand famously closed down after experiencing near-permanent ecological damage from overtourism.
Last year, there were over a billion international travelers. What we need right now is not more travelers, but better travelers.
The Three Pillars of Great Travel Experiences
Want to become a better traveler? In my TEDx talk, I share the three pillars of authentic tourism: Curiosity, Flexibility, and Stewardship.
Curiosity
Have you ever researched a destination before you visited? You checked online for photos, guides, and the best places to visit? Of course, you have! In fact, I’d say most of us research and learn as much as possible before visiting a particular destination, myself included.
While educating yourself on a place is one thing, all this research can lead to an unexpected consequence: Developing an expectation.
You may arrive to your destination with an fully formed idea of what you should do when you’re there, rather than allowing yourself to experience the place as it is.
It’s important to remember that destinations viewed through a tourism lens are often a partial image or a false reality. What you see may be packaged and marketed for tourists, while the “real” or authentic side of the destination may not be visible at all.
A sense of curiosity is an underrated travel skill that allows you to enter a destination without bias or expectation.
Flexibility
When we go on a trip, we usually have a limited time to see and experience as much as possible.
Many of us travelers plan activity-intensive itineraries with exactly where to stay, what to do, and things to eat. While most of us map out these itineraries of jam-packed days and call it “being organized” I would call it something else—fear of the unknown.
We try hard to predict exactly how our trips will be without giving flexibility a chance. What if we allowed a free afternoon to try something totally unexpected? What if we talked to a stranger who became a friend and opened our eyes to a previously unnoticed side of their town?
Stewardship
This is my favorite pillar of authentic travel. When we go to a destination, we are like sponges, soaking up the experience, the food, the place, and the impressions it leaves. We walk away with so many wonderful memories, but rarely do we travelers think about what we give back to our destination.
Travel stewardship can look like a lot of different things.
- Donating books to a library
- Picking up trash in a park
- Talking to people who live there
- Spending your money in locally-owned places
- Trying something new without judgment
Ready for More?
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