Planning an escape? Here are a few things to consider.
 | By Susannah Meadows Senior Staff Editor, Opinion |
One summer in college, I backpacked around Europe. As my Eurail pass delivered me from country to country, I encountered a lot of young Canadian travelers who had sewn their country's flag on their packs. It was understood that these tourists didn't want to be mistaken for being American. |
Ouch. But, really, who could blame them? I purposely didn't pack any T-shirts with English writing on them because I didn't want to be identified as one either. |
I don't know if we Americans — some of us, at least — will ever stop assuming everyone speaks our language when we ask for directions in a foreign city. But I was heartened to read Sara Clemence's ideas in her guest essay this week for how tourists — Americans and others — can at least start thinking about how to do less damage to the places they visit. |
Before the pandemic, cheap tickets and easy bookings fueled a travel spree, she reports. In 2019, as passenger planes spewed record amounts of emissions, we were overwhelming popular destinations and diminishing them. |
Now that travel has picked up again, we can usher in an era of more conscientious travel. "To do that, we need to travel less — and more carefully," Clemence writes. "What if, in addition to asking how to maximize our enjoyment, we spent some time considering a different question: What impact will my presence have?" |
Clemence goes on to offer advice about how we can get answers to that question, including scouring social media for the opinions of locals to find out if we're welcome or not. We can also ask ourselves what kind of trip we have in mind, whether it's going to the beach or eating our way through some culture's cuisine, then we can seek out the less-traveled version of the obvious hot spot. We can even take that dusty globe off the shelf to get fresh ideas. |
However we go about it, Clemence implores us: "Let's stop gorging on cheap travel. Planning fewer, longer, more meaningful trips can mean more enduring memories — and destinations." And one day, we may even feel less ashamed for being American tourists. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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