Travel Better
I am currently half way through my stay in Venice and as much as I love this place, I have been totally caught off guard with the scale of tourism here. I knew what I was getting myself into prior, however nothing could prepare me for what I’ve seen. So much so, that I had to have a think about how I travel and what I can do to minimise my impact. Let’s first address some of the issues I have seen. Also these are not exclusive to Venice, other popular destinations such as Barcelona and Lisbon face the same issues.
Most of the apartments in prime locations are Airbnbs. This is great for tourists but in many cases can take homes away from locals. Not only that, but it drives up rent prices to the point where someone who grew up in that area, can no longer afford to stay there. This issue is further exacerbated by greedy landlords wanting to cash in, thus buying up property and turning it into short term lets.
When I was in Lisbon, there was a clear difference in how many tourists were on the street when cruise ships docked compared to when the port was empty. In every city, this seems to be the biggest issue with almost all locals disliking cruise ships. I did a cruise once just to get my own opinion and it is easily possible to visit 10 different destinations without spending a single penny in each one.
In Venice I found that many tourists were treating this city as their playground, theme park and somewhere to let their hair down. They didn’t seem to care that people live here. This was evident by the noise, shouting, pushing past everyone else, expecting everyone to speak English, taking over entire walkways with their giant suitcases and generally behaving in a disrespectful manner. This was also evident by the clear frustrations of the locals.
Spending money in the local community is the best way one can support the place they visit. However most people seem to only go for the low hanging fruit and buy cheap fridge magnets that were made thousands of miles away. Equally I was pretty surprised to find a Burger King and McDonalds in Venice. I was more surprised to find both of these places absolutely packed… with tourists.
It seems like most tourists don’t care much about this place, history, culture etc so long that they get their Instagram selfie to tell all their followers how cool they are. This feeds back into the mentality that each destination is some kind of amusement park to ‘complete’.
As I was walking around Venice, I found myself getting irritated with a lot of the above but also feeling like I am a part of the problem too. Because no matter how respectful I try to be, I am still a tourist. This is why I am writing this, because I wanted to see what I can do in order not to be that part of the problem. Or at least to be a smaller problem.
The first step was to ask you. I am very fortunate to have such a diverse following from all over the world including places like Venice and Lisbon. Most of the views and opinions shared I agree with and already implement into how I travel.
However there was one opinion which I didn’t agree with at all. Thankfully it was only a small minority and in a couple cases this opinion seemed emotionally loaded with ones financial inability to travel. That was that we shouldn’t travel at all because all travel is bad, selfish and damaging to the world. I strongly disagree with this for the following reasons:
Travel is the best education one can get. Seeing how other people live, how they work, eat, behave, raise families and treat others can teach you a lot.
Travel is the best way to learn that we are all the same. It is the best thing one can do in order to become empathetic, tolerant and respectful to those from other nations, religions and races.
Travel is only selfish if your main purpose is to take a selfie and ask your co-workers how their Monday is going.
If done right, travelling is not selfish because you are educating yourself. By educating yourself you can also pass that on to others.
Travel is not selfish because you spend money in the local community. If spent correctly, that money will go directly in the pockets of the locals.
The final point is regarding the environmental impact of travel. Sure, there is no getting around that flying isn’t the friendliest method of travel. However you can offset this elsewhere. Perhaps you’re not into fast fashion, you don’t own a car and you chose to take public transport when it’s realistic. Everything we do has some kind of negative impact. All we can do is try to offset it elsewhere and being more conscious about our decisions.
Below are some of the ways I feel we can be better travellers. This is not meant to be preachy, patronising or a lecture. It is simply my opinion coupled with the opinions that you shared with me.
Rent wisely
My rule of thumb is that if I go for 2 weeks or less I will get a hotel. If I go for 3+ weeks, I will get an Airbnb. Regardless of which option I go for, I try my best to go for independent spots and not chains. Of course price, location & availability does come into it and I will go with a chain if an independent spot is too expensive, far away or busy. With Airbnbs, I try my best to make sure I am renting from genuine people. For example the apartment I have in Venice is owned by a couple from Venice who only had to move out due to kids thus needing a bigger place.
Travel slowly
I know this is coming from a place of privilege, however I will travel for as long as I can to each location. Minimum 3 weeks and ideally 4-6 weeks. This means that I can really learn more about the location, explore places off the beaten path and try to live like a local. Even if you can’t do this, try to go for as long as you can to each spot. I’d rather see fewer places but see them properly than just tick off a list.
Avoid cruises
As mentioned earlier, I have done a cruise once to get an idea of what it’s like. I have also heard from many of you who are from popular cruise ship destinations. Finally I have seen first hand what it feels like to have thousands of extra people turn up in a city one morning. Although cruises can be fun, easy and a convenient way to see many different places in a short space of time, I just feel like that it’s very easy to visit many different places without spending a penny. You eat on the ship, sleep on the ship, get the tour from the ship and can add to a locations footfall without contributing anything in return. Of course this is not everyone. Finally when I did a cruise, we had a maximum of 8 hours in each destination. Some spots were less than 6. This meant a lot of rushing and not really getting to fully experience that location.
Learn basic local language
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen people (mostly from English speaking countries) speak English to locals without trying to even greet them in the local language. Worse still, they would expect locals to know English and understand them.
Not only is this rude but also disrespectful. Of course no one expects visitors to know the language, but one can easily learn basic phrases or at least ask “hello, do you speak english?” In the local language. I can’t tell you how much of a better reception I get when trying to speak in a local language even if extremely badly.
Be extra respectful
Whenever I am travelling I try to be over the top respectful. Say thank you often, apologise if I am in the way, take the empty coffee cup back to the counter, say hello often, be quiet, leave no trace and generally be extra empathetic and polite. At the end of the day, I am a visitor in someone else’s home. Thus I should behave like one.
Spend local
Spending money in local independent shops, restaurants and cafes is often more difficult and expensive than going to the tourist traps and generic gift shops selling the same mass produced stuff right in the city centre. However if at all possible, I suggest going a little out of your way to find local independent shops and spending there. For example I got some glass gifts from Murano, however not from one of the stores on the main street, but in a small shop off the beaten path. In the shop, the lady had photos of her dad and grandad doing the very same glass blowing she was.
Leave better than you found
Finally try to leave every place better than you found it. Maybe you pick up empty bottle on the ground when you’re on a hike. Or maybe you help the waiter clear the table before you use it by putting the used coffee cups on the counter. Small acts of kindness can go a long way, so do your best to leave any place better than you found it.