The Impact Of Travel And Blogging
| by Aracely on May 8th, 2024 | 12 Comments » | Ecuador, Reflections, South America
Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) in Paris, France
Ever since I can remember I have absolutely loved the idea of travel. When I was in college I pursued a study abroad program in France and I was hooked on travel for life. I knew then that I would do much more of it in the near future and beyond. Nothing feels more rewarding and educational to me than experiencing a new place, language, people, food and everything that comes along with it. My passion for travel made me want to evoke wanderlust onto others.
Travel Blogger Meet Up
The last few weeks we’ve been spending time with a few other traveler bloggers just like us. These are people who are also traveling and sharing their experiences on-line for the world to see. By writing, taking photos and sharing videos, we are all naturally encouraging others to travel to the places we have been or places they have always dreamed of. The point is, the message we all have for others is to get out there and travel.
During our time together we’ve been sharing travel stories, favorite and worst places visited, itineraries and opinions. After a few days full of conversation, I began to notice a few patterns surrounding what we were all discussing.
These were the majority of opinions:
1. Travel is a good thing
If more people travel, the world would be a more empathetic and tolerant place.
2. Remote or less traveled places are much more enjoyable
We prefer the road less traveled, where the local culture has not been impacted by an influx of tourism.
3. Touristy destinations can be frustrating to visit
Tourism typically leads to overcrowding, a lack of culture or native peoples, aggressive sales tactics and a high risk of scams.
4. We can’t stand when situation #3 happens
I think we spent the most time complaining about places that are destroyed due to tourism.
What is the mission of TwoBackpackers.com?
Dressing Up in Uros Tribe Clothing in Lake Titicaca
The more I listened to us speak the more confused I became towards my feelings of travel and its impact. Further, I began to question our mission for TwoBackpackers.com, which currently is blogging about our travels and encouraging others to follow suit.
Here we all were talking about how great travel is and how more people should do it, particularly in the United States, since we aren’t known for being world travelers. And here we all were complaining about places that are “too touristy,” where we get bombarded by opportunistic locals wanting a piece of our gringo tourist money.
A Look At Ourselves
But aren’t we, the travelers, creating this environment? How can we blame these locals for being opportunistic and trying to better themselves and their families? And wouldn’t we, the travelers, ruin the local remote places we enjoy by sharing our stories with the rest of the world through our travel blogs?
Impact on the Galapagos Islands
Blue Footed Boobies on Isla de La Plata in Ecuador
It really hit home for me when we spoke specifically about the Galapagos Islands. I was born in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands have always been a dream destination for me. A travel blogger commented on their experience when visiting Galapagos and it shocked me to say the least. The tour guide they had during their visit, whom was considered reputable, explained that the Galapagos Islands will likely not be here in 20 years due to the exploitation of the tourism industry and the impact it has on the natural wildlife. Jason did some further research and found that the Galapagos Islands were indeed added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage Endangered List on June 27, 2024.
School of Fish at Isla de La Plata in Ecuador
This concept was crippling for me to hear. I began to question my role as a traveler, an Ecuadorian and a world citizen who has never even visited The Galapagos Islands. I regard the islands as a natural wonder and treasure on this planet. Loosing them would be devastating to me, our human history and the future of the world as a whole.
How could I possibly visit the Galapagos knowing that me being there will essentially contribute to their destruction? Further, how could I possibly promote others to visit them? Is travel really a good thing? Do I still want to devote so much energy into making others enthusiastic about seeking travel experiences? I’ve been asking myself these questions a lot lately.
Picking Up Plastic Bottles on Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca
Impact on Me
Honestly, I’ve yet resolve my internal conflict about whether or not I am still willing to visit the Galapagos Islands. However, I have concluded that my message about travel to others needs to be much more focused. I have learned that the simple message, “Travel is good for the world,” is not entirely accurate. Too much is ignored when making such a general statement.
Travel must be environmentally responsible, socially beneficial for the host country and it should build a healthy relationship between the visitor and the host. Personally, I believe this starts with the traveler. In this particular case, it begins with me.
A Traveler and Blogger Reflecting
Tags: environment, impact of blogging, impact of travel, responsible tourism, responsible travel, sustainable travel, travel blog, travel blogging
12 Responses to “The Impact Of Travel And Blogging”
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Travel isn’t static and the places that were once isolated are now easily attainable, therefore more tourists go there. That doesn’t mean the experience of isolated wonders aren’t there, we just need to look for them.
I also think that as more people travel the demand for environmentally conscious travel will become more important, in some cases only because there is a business model for it.
Ayngelina, I agree with you, isolated wonders still exist and as a travel blogger I want to share these wonders with others, but I also want to protect them from being exploited. And you’re right, there is a business model for environmentally conscious travel but I fear that many times local social development is ignored.
I’ve had the same moment of reckoning myself (http://bit.ly/9P0vW4). To me, your latest batch of conclusions sound exactly right. As people who promote travel to sizable audiences, we have to indicate that all travel must be green and mutually beneficial. Great post, wish I could have been down in Argentina with the crowd! I’m planning to be there this Oct/Nov.
Thanks Keith for sharing your post as well.
This is a great post.
As much as you’re worried about visiting somewhere that will have an impact, I think the fact you’re aware of it makes the story even more interesting to read. Travellers change every destination, whether it be a big city or tiny village. The important thing is to take care of the places our feet land on. In the end, it’s the lesson of understanding different cultures and habitats that make all of us better people, and hence a very important lesson for anyone of any age.
Keep blogging.
Thank you for the comment and the encouragement to keep blogging. Travel blogging is a trend that is growing quickly and I’d like the contribution of Two Backpackers to be a positive one, not only for the places we travel but also for our fellow travelers.
Beautiful, thoughtful post on the impact of traveling!
Excellent post! I wish every travel writer and blogger would truly keep these things in mind and promote responsible, green travel. I think every one of us have a duty to educate the public and set the example of truly green, sustainable travel and lifestyle.
Travel IS a good thing, but much depends on HOW one does it and what writers/bloggers etc promote.
I love this proverb:
“Tourism is a like a fire, you can cook your dinner on it, or it can burn your house down.”
Sadly many who promote travel and tourism and write about it are just out to make a buck and don’t care a bit about the planet or what future generations will miss.
That’s an excellent quote. And you’re right, most of our most powerful tools and resources can be used or abused.
That said, I do tend to believe the bulk of the travel blogging community tends toward supporting the environment, local culture and maintaining a necessary balance with the world in which we live.
I’m glad I had a chance to be a part of these discussions, because I also heard what happened in between. But I think, at base, you get to the heard of the matter here.
Everything starts with us. We can choose to travel cleanly and respect the areas we visit. We can choose slower travel, travel that doesn’t impact the environment and wherever we go turn to local products and produce.
In a sense, backpacking is a good way to go. If everyone made the footprint a backpacker made, we wouldn’t have nearly the environmental issues we have.
Very beautiful and touching post! I too think about these issues when I travel as well and I haven’t come up with the perfect solution. I hope that you can figure out a way to visit the GI without feeling guilty.
Aracely and Jason: this technologically challenged writer just had a brilliant set of sentences wiped out as a result of overlooking the captcha code. The fact that I have no idea whether that code transfers all my worldly assets to a Swiss bank account set up to feed the poor of Guatemala is beside the point. Three pithy statements are applicable in any case: (1) do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, (2) foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, and (3) distance does for love what the wind does for fire: it extinguishes the weak and feeds the strong. The relevance of these varies, but I stole them from smart sources so they must be useful. Did I mention I am a big fan of travel, especially when done before commitments get in the way and philosophy becomes tied to daily demands.