The untapped market potential in western countries is still crazy.
I’d say 80% of the people I know live stuck within their immediate home area or region, they don’t realize a taxi to the local international airport and 5-10 hours on a plane would change their entire world view.
Kind of a tangent, but this is a more nuanced topic than people usually imagine, and not necessarily always a good thing. Widening your perspective sounds great, and often it is, but it also tends to isolate you from other people in ways that can't be undone.
You won't get this effect from being a tourist abroad a few times a year, but it's something that comes with territory after you've traveled extensively, kind of a more literal version of the "you can't go home again" proverb. I expect lots of digital nomads are probably familiar with this, but it's not something they talk about.
Life is a process of stacking up experiences that others are increasingly unlikely to be able relate to. But someone who leaves a small rural community for college in the big city is losing a large number of people who can relate to them, and gaining a new community of people that can. Same story for most radical perspective-widening experiences, like how soldiers may struggle with aspects of civilian life, but at least can enjoy new solidarity/understanding with their brothers in arms. Usually with these things, one door opens and another closes.
The situation is very different for some types of expat or diaspora populations, or just your dedicated wanderer. Those who are earnestly involved or experienced in multiple cultures may find that they can relate to everyone, but never feel understood themselves.
Businesses, liking money, noticed that if they could sell the masses on this idea it would be immensely profitable. You too - merely wealthy or even middle class person - can be enlightened like the aristocrats! A trip could change your world view! Show the world you're not a dumb, ignorant, small-minded serf-child by traveling!
And sure, I'm being overly cynical, but for a mere library fee you can probably expand your world view even more than through consumerist behaviour.
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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour_(disambiguation)
My view is that learning a new concept is a lot like traveling. To me it feels the same. I like to do both a lot.
There is an exception with traveling that is hard to find in books (directly, indirectly it is also available in books). One can form social relationships with people from another country. In many cases, the relationship that forms is with another tourist. It seems to be one of the few times that people are genuinely open to meet other people. There are other ways to go about this, but this way of truly meeting potential new international friends is hard to beat. Though, another way of doing it is university.
I think traveling has little that is unique, but so does everything else. There are always other ways that one can go about to meeting their needs. It just so happens that traveling is a pretty good and convenient way to do it with, but by far not the only way.
People who regale me with tales of their travels will recount the great food, the nice people, the architecture, the views. You burned all that fuel, money, and time to travel halfway around the world just to eat someone else's food and shit in someone else's toilet? To walk someone else's streets? Why? If you think this experience has enhanced your worldview, I think you're a fool who was marketed to. I think travel has been productized and hawked to you as a "world-view enhancing" high-status marker by the tourism industry.
The higher status attributed to "one who has toured" is particularly abhorrent. Oh, sorry, I'm just stupider with a meeker worldview because I didn't go hiking in the Alps or eat authentic Italian food or something. It's unwarranted elitism.
I think it's a superficial outlet for consumerism and a misguided attempt to attain some ostensible "worldliness" status.
My ideal is to dwell in and steward for my own village. Why do I need to go around visiting other people's villages?
Here's an ideal, from the Tao Te Ching, chapter 80:
Let the country be small,
And the inhabitants few.
Although there are weapons
For tens and hundreds of soldiers,
They will not be used.
Let people take death seriously,
And not travel far.
Although they have boats and carriages,
There's no occasion to use them.
Although they have armor and weapons,
There's no occasion to wear them.
Let people return to making knots on ropes,
Instead of writing.
Their food will be tasty.
Their clothes will be comfortable.
Their homes will be tranquil.
They will rejoice in their daily life.
They can see their neighbors.
Roosters and dogs can be heard from there.
Still, they will age and die
Without visiting one another.
We are all fools marketed to in different ways.
That said, I don't really remember in much detail things I did in 2016. I remember still in vivid detail the things I experienced in the 3 weeks I spent in Japan. Including, ironically enough, the toilets I shat at.
But sure, maybe that’s all vapid consumerist nonsense. I’m sure you would know, small village expert on the state of the world. Actually that’s pretty harsh. I’m sure you have a lovely perspective from your little village. It’s a shame you’ve revoked my invitation and I can’t come learn it from you.
Because you could make the same arguments for basically any activity: would you reduce playing a sport or learning a craft as mere marketing by their respective industries, and make judgements on them based on philosophy, rather than just try out playing the sport or doing the craft for a while to see for yourself what it's like? Philosophy only goes so far, it's practice that allows you to become embodied in the activity and gain insight.
I think there is value to vacation and travel for relaxation purposes. But you are definitely right that "world-view enhancing" is travel industry propaganda.
Maybe if you live somewhere for a year and integrate with the culture there is something to be gained. But a week in Italy is just for fun, I think it's silly when people claim otherwise.
Building a community and established roots seems much more meaningful than travelling to many different places, at least to me.
If I can make a friend in another country, all the better.
The world! The people! It is amazing! I stand agape at the scope of it all. I'm sorry I will not be able to experience every single bit of it.
But that's just me. I don't intend or expect you to be convinced it is right for you. Likewise, you can't tell me what has or has not enhanced my world view. :)
You're gonna eat anyway. Might as well be stuff you've never tried before in some exotic location.
You're gonna shit anyway. Who cares where the toilet used is located?
If you get outside at all, why not walk some streets / take a path you've never taken before?
So it all comes down to the cost of actually getting there. If not far from home, that cost can be low to zero. If further away: there's expensive destinations / ways to travel, and cheap(er) ones. Going on a single long vacation may be better value than a weekend back-and-forth every year.
You have to actually dig and get outside the "tourist" areas to really start to get something different, and you can do that in the USA, too.
Decades ago, even touristy places were very "native" for lack of a better term.
But now, things like McDonalds and Starbucks and other American chains have expanded all over the world, the locals like them for various reasons, and you find them in the richer areas (which are often clustered around tourist-attractive areas, too).
However, if you stay in an area for a week or two, and/or get outside the cities, you quickly realize just how different places are.
Seems quite out of touch with reality assuming that people don't travel because they don't want to.
It's unlike necessities like a roof over your head, education and healthcare. These are all increasingly unaffordable thanks to a war on the working class driven by the financialization of essentials.
It's going to cost over $10k, and most of that is going to flights (economy) and hotels (decent, but not stellar).
A very large percentage of Americans wouldn't even be able to afford the ~$1k/person to fly to Europe, let alone any of the other costs involved.
If you think that every American (or even nearly so) would be able to afford an overseas vacation if they just did the research, then I'm sorry, you really are out of touch with reality. Hell, a depressing number of Americans don't even have enough paid days off to be able to afford to take a road-trip-and-camping vacation within the country for any significant length of time.
International travel has gotten a lot more expensive over the past few years. I'm literally paying double for the same flight and hotel compared to 5-6 years ago.
I think a weekend trip for two (including housing) is on the order of a months rent: roughly $1500.
Some people (probably a very low minority) are also of the thought that unnecessary consumption travel is a high impact on environment ~ something about climate change.
I have travelled extensively, and my assessment (along with other people who have travelled extensively) is that you end up travelling to see people, not things or experiences.
This requires you to know people where you travel to.
In the end, it is not travelling that opens up your mind, it is knowing and interacting with people of different culture - It is being open minded that opens up your mind.
Travel is now, arguably, more of a luxury than it was precovid.
$1500 will get you a month in a less expensive country
I have a friend that grew up, went to college, went to law school all within 20 miles of his hometown. As soon as he graduated law school, he got married and started talking about having kids. That was a few years ago, but he was basically 45 and settled into his suburban life at the age of 24.
1. People who don't travel because they can't afford it 2. People who don't travel because they're intimidated by it 3. People who don't travel because they don't see it as important
These groups definitely have some overlap -- you may not be able to afford it because you don't prioritize it -- but I think most people wouldn't self-identify as being part of Group 3.
What I meant was many people jumped to say it was only money that caused people not to travel. Everyone knows a friend like mine. I have no idea of the breakdown, but my personal experience makes me want to question the idea it’s always all money.
How do I plan logistics, like flights, hotels, transportation, and activities? How do I get around when I don't speak the language at all? And, of course, how can I afford this trip for my family, reaching a balance between comfort and cost?
Sure, anyone can learn to do these things, but it's definitely intimidating to do it the first time.
I lived in Spain for a couple of years and have a good idea of what life is like there. Many of my fellow Brits who have vacations at the same Spanish resort year after year have not one clue.
Air travel is responsible for 4% of warming to date[0], so an 80% growth would make aviation… responsible for 7.2% of current warming, or warming going up 3.2% compared to reality — sure, that's still bad, but it's not huge.
That said, if "80% of people aren't using aircraft" were true (I don't think it is), going from that to everyone wouldn't be "80% more air travel", it would be 400% more air travel, boosting global warming by 16%. Which is even worse, but again, not what I'd call "accelerate global warming hugely".
[0] more than you might expect from the 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions: https://ourworldindata.org/global-aviation-emissions
Guess my horizons are already expanded anyway, been all over and find hanging out in my home region fine.
I do think everyone should do at least a little safe international travel. Visit Europe once or twice. Visit a country or two in Asia. But I mostly found it made me want to be back home. I like my house, hobbies, and friends a lot. I know that sort of travel can be transformative for many, though, which is why I encourage people to do it, but I also completely get not wanting to :)