How the Internet Will Change Travel

Blogs. Message Boards. Online Maps. Couchsurfing. Online Booking. It seems you can do everything on the web nowadays. With all things travel plans you can make online, it’s no wonder that many people say the future of travel is on the Internet. While these services and tool have not completely changed how people travel, as more people get wired, they will. The groundwork has already been laid.

For starters, look at the wider picture. Internet connectivity and speed is drastically increasing. Singapore has country wide Wi-Fi and broadband providers around the world are increasing their connection speed all the time. Everywhere you go now seems to be a Wi-Fi hot spot. Even in poorer countries, connectivity is increasing and you can scarcely walk five feet without tripping over an Internet café. Though the majority of the world may not have Internet at home, they can get it from somewhere.

Furthermore, companies continue to increase their web profile as more people use the Internet for information, business, and maintaining social relationships. Many of the most savvy companies already use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to advertise and keep consumers aware of developments. Kids, who are increasingly more webs savvy than their elders, use the web for everything. These social networking and media services are vital for them to get information. They have already made Google a verb.

People already use the Internet for travel. We look book flights and hotels online, meet other travelers, online, stay in touch via blogs, and find information via Google and community forums. This trend will only continue. It’s easy, convenient, and more practical for finding deals and getting information.

More and more companies are realizingthe world is going wired. They are looking to increase their web presence and use of social media to reach these future travelers and consumers. Travel guides are already available for download in PDFs and most companies let you pick and pay for the chapters you want instead of buying the whole book. While many of the writers interviewed for this site don’t see the death of print media yet, it’s not far off. Why lug a guidebook around when you can simply download it or the section you want. Offbeat Guides already lets you customize your guidebook and then will print and ship it to you.

What will really facilitate this process is the growth of mobile internet technology. As iPhones and its copycats become increasing utilized and companies created applications for them, services are going to be increasingly digitized. Wi-Fi will mean constant internet access and therefore constant access to the information you need on the road. Lonely Planet has already developed a mobile feature for phones, and though poorly designed, it shows that the beginning of this movement has already begun. Soon you’ll be able to look up any place or piece of information you need via your mobile device. Google already has great maps available for these devices and is only making them better.

The groundwork for a digital revolution in travel is already there. Services already exist to connect you with travelers, book hotels and flights, get destination information, read reviews, find things to do, and locate the best deals. The majority of all these services are free too. Yet the revolution will not get fully underway until mobile technology gets better and a critical mass of people begin to use this technology. There is already a very savvy group of people out there but they remain a tiny portion of existing travelers. However, as young people, accustomed to doing everything online, grow up and start to travel, this digital travel revolution will mushroom from a spark to a wildfire.

Carnival of Blogs #9

It’s been a busy week in travel and here are some of the highlights:

When old trips end, new ones begin and a few new people have launched websites or, in most cases, are newly discovered by me. They include the newly relaunched Transient Travels, In between jobs blog, Nomad Backpackers, and the not new but new to me, TravMonkey.

Christine from Almost Fearless is also now writing for another blog (where does she get the time?) called Europe String. She uses her extensive knowledge of Europe to help get you there and get you there cheap!

A few bloggers (Debbie, Pam, and Beth)  have decided to run a contest called Passports with a Purpose. Check it out and help bring about more ethical travel to the world. They are raising money for projects around the world. Please support them!

NewWrldYankee’s recent article on dating. This was a nice article on food in Vietnam with some interesting photos.  Steve at Asian Ramblings had a great article on ten things to do in Bangkok. Chris at Art of Nonconformity is discussing multitasking, a habit that’s important to this author! ImAirSick has some great tips for long flights. He’s a frequent flier and always has good advice for air travel.

In personal news, Nomadic Matt is reminding you all that he has his own blog now at Matt’s Travel Musings. This is where he talks about his life, travels, work, blogging, seo, and the third person. Come check it out and subscribe to the RSS.

Moreover, the Nomadic Matt web empire is expanding to include a site on the 16 best tropical islands in the world. You can visit the site at Best Tropical Islands in the World. Please share the site and help get it off the ground. Any link, stumble, digg, mixx, de.lic.ious, furl or any other social media promotion is very much appreciated and will leave me in your debt.

Party Across America Author Interview

As a party lover, I’m always interested in the newest social gathering. I love the atmosphere. Meeting new people. The Drinks. The Energy. Who doesn’t love a good party? It’s party of the fun of traveling! So when I got the opportunity to read and review the book, Party Across America: 101 of the Greatest Festivals, Sporting Events, and Celebrations in the U.S., and interview the author Michael Guerriero, I jumped at it. Of course, I’d want to review a book on parties- I’m always looking for a new cultural and fun experience.  The short version of the review (link below) is that the book is a the party version of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List. Instead of where to go, it tells you where to party. It was a good read and included all the nessecary information. Plus, itmakes for a good reference for your next wild trip across America. After reading the book, I also got to pick the brain of the book’s author:

Nomadic Matt: What inspired you to write this book?
Michael Guerriero: The inspiration for Party Across America came from a few different places. I love to travel and I love a good party, so why not combine the two? The guidebook format works well because it provides every ounce of information that a person needs to explore these annual events without being too wordy. Although I think the real inspiration comes from the fact that everyone goes to Las Vegas when they want to have some fun. But the reality is that our country is teeming with incredible events that blow the doors off of a Las Vegas weekend.

How did you go about researching the parties for the book?
The research for Party Across America was intense – lots of driving and flying… and lots of partying with a notebook in my hands. It started back in my ski bumming days, when my friends and I would drive from the east coast to the west coast before the ski season started in Tahoe, California. We’d plan these cross-country trips according to the parties we wanted to hit, and stretch the drives out for weeks. I think we took 8 of them all together. After I got the book deal it was a matter of re-visiting the events and deciding which celebrations should make the cut. The only rule is that the celebration has to occur in the same place every year.

Do you feel that some of the parties are “better” than others? Or are all parties here equal?One of the things that I’m most proud of is that there is such a diverse cross section of events in the book. There are motorcycle rallies, Halloween celebrations, music festivals, football tailgates, raves, food extravaganzas, and every other type of party that you can think of.

So no matter what type of person you are, there will be something in here for you…they’re all guaranteed to take the idea of a long weekend to a completely different level. It just depends on the person and what type of a long weekend he or she is in the mood for.

What is your favorite party?
My favorite party in the book is the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida. It’s was amazing – 500,000 people, tons of great energy, incredible weather, people letting loose, and puffy pirate shirts of course.

If you could go back and re research any of the parties for this book, which one would you choose?
I’m not a NASCAR fan, but the Talladega 500 was one that I’d like to go back to. After a weekend in Alabama, I understood why so many people love that sport and why so many others buy tickets for that particular race a year in advance. The infield of the Talladega is one of the wildest places I’ve ever seen—hands down.

Did you tell people you were researching a party book? What was their reaction?
Most people were very interested and extremely inquisitive about the project when I told them about it. I guess it’s not every day that someone says “I’m writing a travel guide to the 101 greatest annual celebrations in the country.” In fact the reaction from people, both young and old, was so positive and encouraging that it really helped to push me through a few bouts of writers block!

What did you learn by traveling across the country to all these parties? Anything really strike you?
We live in an incredible country, and although it’s difficult to say that in the current economic climate, there are so many reasons to celebrate life on a regular basis.

What you cannot learn about a place by seeing it, you can learn by partying in it. Every area of the United States is filled with unique culture, and these parties tell fascinating stories about the cities or towns in which they occur. These events are about more than just beer drinking and uninhibited behavior – they weave the social fabric of America.

Are there any plans to write party books for other countries or continents?
I’ve thought a lot about that and it would be a blast. Maybe when the exchange rate improves a bit.

For more information about the book, head to Michael Guerriero’s website. If you are interested in my review, you can check it out at Matador Goods.

The Weekly Photo: Uluru

Uluru, Red Center, Australia

Of Backpackers and Tourists

All along the backpacker trail you hear it. The talk. The chatter. The snarls. The attitude. That’s right. I’m talking about how backpackers feel about tourists. Backpackers view tourists as non-travelers- those who go for the pictures and the hotel but never the place. Backpackers on the other hand are true travelers- they go for the cultural experience, to meet the locals, and immerse themselves in far away lands. Or at least that’s what they think.

In the traveler lexicon, a backpacker is usually a young traveler on a long trip who sleeps in hostels, cook his/her own meals, lives cheap, is on a budget, and parties hard. They take local transport and experience the local culture. A tourist is anyone who goes somewhere, follows the Lonely Planet trail, stays in nice hotels, eats at nice restaurants (but that don’t really serve authentic local food), take tourist buses, buy silly gifts, and generally stick out like a sore thumb.

I always found this distinction a bit ironic since so many backpackers, while talking down about “tourists,” carry their Lonely Planet, visit the same cities and stay at the same hostels, and stick to the same path that was laid out before them thirty years ago by the hippies.  While I consider myself of the backpacker set (though more of a nomad) I don’t subscribe to this line of thought.  When I hear this argument, I shake my head and find joy in pointing out the hypocrisy to some naive fellow traveler.

But let’s be clear. “Tourists” stick out like a sore thumb. They couldn’t hide if they tried. Many make no attempt to learn cultural norms, blend in, or respect the local cultures. These are the tourists that people speak about. And I can’t stand those tourists who come to a place, make no effort to interact with the locals, and stay in the resort their whole vacation. What’s the point of coming to a new country if you’re really never going to see it?

To me, that is not travel. That’s flying to a resort. But, at least they made the effort. Baby steps right?

However, I think we all have our tourist moments.  We all stick out sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all get an A for effort. What is ironic is that instead of trying to promote better travel- travel that gets people of all travel styles to interact with the locals- backpackers claim superiority because they do it cheaper and sleep in hostels. They get off the beaten path they say, live like the locals, and experience the local culture.

Except they don’t.

Experiencing a new culture means staying there long enough to get into the flow of life. Most backpackers don’t do that. They simply go to the newest party location and call it off the beaten path until someone (else) with a Lonely Planet arrives. They eat at the street stall and claim they are just like the locals yet never learn the language and just eat food that looks safe.  I often get asked where to go see the real Thailand, and I always say that there is no such thing- every part is equally real.  Well we want to live like a local they respond. Get an apartment and get a job I’ll say.

I like to call this “The Beach Syndrome.” This idea that traveling cheap is better and more authentic (because the locals are glad you are saving your money and not giving it to them) and that there is some place off the beaten path that is the true, authentic part of a country. Backpackers imagine what the characters in the book, The Beach, did- that there is some travel ideal out there.  This authentic mysterious place that supposedly exists where everything is real and your the only stranger there and everyone is friendly and authentic and you melt right. What a place that would be- too bad it doesn’t exist. It’s a myth. It’s “The Beach Syndrome.”

I’m not a fan our package tour tourists but that doesn’t mean I’m better than them. No travel is really better than any other travel. What is important is that we move past the backpacker/tourist debate and realize the that what is important is that we travel. We not only go for pleasure and pictures but to also learn about another culture and break out of comfort zone- even if it just a bit. Isn’t that the point of why we go anyways?

A rose by any other name is still a rose and no matter what we call ourselves- we are really all just tourists.

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