Earth To Editorial

This statistic is insane. This past year, I found out that 6 out of 10 apartments in Venice are short-term tourist rentals, aka, Airbnbs and VRBOs. That means 60% of housing... is unavailable to people who actually live there. If we continue at this rate, it has already been estimated that by 2030, there will be no full-time residents living in Venice. This is obviously a huge issue, especially when we zoom out and see all the other world destinations affected by overtourism. And not to...

My all-time favorite travel quote comes from Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Indeed, it’s one of the great activities to do in a lifetime, but there’s no denying that it comes with drawbacks. Overtourism has change popular destinations for the worse. An article claimed that six out of 10 apartments in Venice are tourist rentals. Barcelona receives about 10 travelers for every one resident. As travelers, we have a special responsibility to help...

Hey Reader, Let's talk about warm, fuzzy feelings. I've been feeling them a lot lately, all because of the outpouring of responses I've been getting from my TEDx talk: What it means to be a good traveler. But first, a little backstory. It was 2022, and I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand as a newbie travel writer. I wanted to visit and elephant sanctuary and thought this would be a perfect pitch for the travel publications I was working with. But when I arrived to the sanctuary, I saw something...

The year is 2026. You have your freshly renewed passport ripe for the stamps and just picked up a pair of brand-spanking-new walking shoes for all those miles you’ll be putting in. You’ve had your eyes set on the cherry blossom festival in Japan—a major event that requires some seriously well-timed traveling. And then, the unthinkable happens. The cherry blossom festival is cancelled. “Why me?!” you wept with your face turned towards the sky so that the venegeful tourism gods might hear your...

Hey Reader, All I can say is: Wow. This past October, I gave a TEDx talk. It was crazy. Overwhelming. Fun. Scary. Amazing. I had so many mixed feelings about getting up in front of a crowd to talk about a topic I care about, and other people shared my curiosity about the experience as well. “What was it like giving a TEDx talk?” Let’s break it down: 1. The preparation When I was accepted to give a TEDx talk a few months ago, I was immediately assigned a speaking coach whom I then met with...

I'm guilty. I go on and on about the benefits of supporting small businesses when you travel. I harp about the authentic experience, and have made words like culture and sustainability part of my battle cry. Get off the main track and find a real adventure! Interact with locals and support the economy without contributing to tourism leakage! But what happens when that all backfires? What happens when we do all the right things, look for the local experience, get off the tourist track, and end...

This past year, I scored a deal that made me feel like I won the travel lottery. $200 (round-trip, after tax) flights from Boston to Europe. I was gassed. In no short part because, just 6 months earlier, I paid $1,000 for the same route! Travel is a spectacular privilege that I believe everyone should have access to. But let's be real, the cost of travel is a real barrier to entry. According to NerdWallet, Americans anticipated footing a $3,861 bill on a single vacation, and I believe a big...

My mom is planning a trip to Ireland this month, which means I have become her itinerary planner. It's funny because I grew up hearing about her wild travel stories. At a time when women were not able to get a credit card in their own name, she moved to England on her own. ... And hitchhiked across Europe. Now my mom is in her seventies, and times have certainly changed. As much as I love my mom, walking her through sending an email is a 10-minute ordeal. I'm a bit worried about her going...

Whether we realize it or not, every vacation, trip, and experience, we make a choice. Do we make a positive impact on the place we visit, or a negative one? Sadly, the average traveler doesn't realize the impact they have on the destinations they visit, and a major factor is where they choose to stay. Because: Tourism leakage. This is a phenomenon where the money you spend abroad is moved out of the local economy. Literally, leaking from the economy. This happens because major resorts or...