A Contrarian View: Why Travel is Bad for the World

Travel is a good thing. To quote Maya Angelou:

Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends

I believe in travel. Heck, I have an entire website and career dedicated to making people do it more!

But, in the rush to get people to travel, we often overlook the negative impact of travel on communities and the environment. We talk about how travel can be a force for good: breaking down social barriers, connecting people, teaching people about life, and themselves but….

Is too much travel a bad thing?

Is there an argument to be made for traveling less?

Are we all, even with the best intentions, doing harm to the very thing we want the most?

Nothing is ever perfect but if I had to make an argument against travel, these are the points I would make:

Travel destroys local cultures

The globalization of food, travel, hotels, and language diminishes the very culture we traveled so far to see. Instead of going out to seek the unknown, most people stay in resorts and hotels, never experiencing the country they are in. We go to McDonald’s or eat food we can get at home. It’s as though we travel to never leave home. Wherever we go, we seem to bring our western culture with us.

Read more:

• The Truth About Meeting Locals Abroad
• 6 Reasons To Learn the Local Language Before Your Trip

 

Travel makes the world Disneyland

From the hill tribes of Thailand to the Andes to cowboys of America, travelers have a certain expectation of what a place is and how the people should act. We travel to see that expectation. We travel to see Crocodile Dundee, Mayans, Native Americans, and hill tribe cultures in Asia. Cultures around the world then put on a show to give us what we want and in the process “Disneyize” their culture. I hate seeing the little hill tribes in Thailand or Native American shows in America or “traditional” dance in Vietnam. It’s not how they really act. It’s how they act for tourists. Doesn’t that just cheapen the experience and, in the end, cause more harm than good?
 
Travel destroys local economies

All that travel in big hotels and global restaurants doesn’t help the local economy. Most of that money is removed by corporations to the head office. Travelers go with what they know and most will stay at the Marriott before they stay in some unknown place, never thinking about where the money is going. Travel can be a huge economic boon but only if the money stays local.

Read more:

How to Use the Sharing Economy

How to Crush It On Couchsurfing

 
Travel hurts the environment

Traveling is not the most eco-friendly of activities. Flying, cruising, eating out, and driving around all have a negative impact on the environment. Most people when they travel constantly use towels in hotel rooms, leave the air conditioner going, or forget to turn off the lights. Jetsetting around the world in airplanes or driving around in an RV all contribute to global warming. Between waste, development, and pollution, we are doing exactly what The Beach said we would do — destroy the very paradise we seek.

Read more:

• Flight Shaming: Is Flying Bad for the Environment?
• Sustainable Travel Guide
• 9 Ways to Explore the Caribbean Sustainably

 
Travel produces short-term profits
Everyone tries to grab that last dollar. Travel isn’t the only industry this happens with but it’s the most relevant to us. Instead of building for the long term, people overdevelop in the name of short-term gain. You see it in Thailand with its built up beaches, in Cambodia, in southern Spain, and in Las Vegas with all the casinos (where’s all that water going to come from?). It’s everywhere. Money now, forget later. Eventually, the tourists will stop coming because they will be so put off and so sad the beauty they came for is gone.

Read more:

• It’s Time to Break Up With Airbnb

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While there is a growing effort among people to mitigate these downsides, the truth is we can’t ignore overtourism and the negative side of travel. Yet I don’t think these reasons should make us stop traveling. In fact, I’m just thinking out loud here. Simply letting the wheels turn.

At the end of the day, these negatives come down to personal choice. You can easily travel the world and not do any of these things. I don’t fly much, I don’t stay in giant hotels, I avoid chain restaurants, I stay in local guesthouses, and I won’t do tours that exploit animals or the environment.

Things are only good or bad if they make them to be. If you stay with travelers, never get out of the tourist area, never look up from your phone, waste water, and ride elephants, yeah you’re travel is bad for the world.

But if you do the opposite, then there’s no reason why your travel can’t be a force for good.

While many travelers are good at thinking about the environment and cultures, the majority aren’t. And so I do think there is a strong argument to be made that travel does cause a lot of problems that should make us rethink how and why we travel. There’s a downside to what we do and we should take it upon ourselves not to do those things so we can keep travel the benefit that it is.

Let’s be a force for good and change the way we travel by using our money to support better local environmental initiatives and companies.

As they say, leave no trace behind.