01/31/2026
I support this 100,000%
When I travel, I always look for ways to be part of the local economy rather than exploit it. That means getting off the beaten path, renting from locals, eating in mom & pop restaurants, buying things from street vendors and corner stores.
Traveling as a tourist, or leading groups of tourists, is a little trickier. People really want to see the top tourist sites (of course!). I usually try to visit those places quickly, employing a local guide to make sure we respect what we see, and then get out of there and do something like a cooking class offered by a locally owned business.
I try to miss crowds by leading my groups during the off-season or shoulder season, or by visiting places that aren't *quite* as overtouristed when possible (Florence vs. Rome, South of France vs. Paris). But the truth is, we all want to see the same World Wonders, and we have to figure out how to make that sustainable.
Visiting Europe is one thing. Visiting historically colonized places without further colonizing them is the trickiest! Someday I'll write a whole blog post on that topic because it can't be covered in a social post.
Let’s talk overtourism!
Someone DMed me after my post on Ko Lipe on what responsibility creators have regarding overtourism.
That’s a question that’s been asked of travel writers for a long time. I mean the book The Beach talked about how “once it is in the Lonely Planet, it’s ruined” - and that book came out in 1996!
In my view, I think travel writers should share every place - but I also think it’s important to tell people how to be RESPONSIBLE travelers.
Because it can have an impact.
Riding elephants in Thailand went away when consumers became more conscious of it. Eco lodges got big because of consumers. Overtourism is talked about by consumers as much as it is by locals.
Your travel choices DO matter.
But, sadly, only to an extent.
Because there’s also only so much you can do as a consumer - and I can do as a writer.
In the absence of any government or local initiative to limit development, overdevelopment is going to happen. You can tell people to limit their plastic consumption all you want but if the government is paving over paradise to put up resorts, your impact is limited. (I fully support initiatives to limit visitor numbers in overburdened and delicate places.)
And, in the absence of local efforts to sustainably develop or manage a place, you have to say no more. There are many places I don’t think people should visit due to overdevelopment (as I did in my last post on Ko Lipe).
I think people should get off the beaten path more, spend their money at more mom and pop restaurants and guesthouses, fly less, and, overall, just think about the impact on destinations.
I love how more people are doing that. I think as we go into 2026, we need to think even MORE about it. Not only reducing things like plastic and resource usage but also asking “should we even go there in the first place?” Why reward a place that is mismanaged when there are plenty of places that are well managed?
So, while I don't believe in gatekeeping places, I do think it’s important to tell people to be good stewards of destinations when they travel.
And support destinations making an effort to do so.
And avoid ones that don’t.
P.S. - Before everyone goes "well, you told people to go there!", let us remember that travel writers are not in charge of development. I build no hotels, resorts, or ports for cruise ships. Most travel writers, especially those who focus on the kind of travel I do, abhor overdevelopment and have always preached supporting locals and sustainability. Not all travel is equal and travel and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. And I have long advocated against unfettered development.
