Is traveling just another form of consumption?

Is traveling just another form of consumption?

Travel is advertised as a panacea against all possible diseases. But is it not just a different form of consumption, packaged and packed to generate dollars?

When I was 10 years old, my father had his first heart attack. This made me a passionate non -smoker. When I was 13 I saw in Bangladesh how two cows were slaughtered. This made me a vegetarian.

In the following two decades, I developed, the non-smoking vegetarian, a sharp awareness of the narrow line between conscientious environmental protection and a complacent asshole. (Note: the latter lectures on how to live their lives, the former not.)

There are numerous beliefs and employment, such as vegetarianism and non -smokers who can cause an excessive degree of compatriots. Among them is to name travel.

When Peter and I founded Atlas & Boots, we wanted to resist and avoid travel cult to become the chattering evangelists to avoid people at parties because all their sentences start with "When I something in ..."

alt = “”> Atlas & Boots "When I was in South America"-a sentence that we all fear at parties

Sometimes we swaned in our determination, but on the whole we tried to share our trips without saying that they should/have to follow our example.

I will not lie: Under the reluctance, I always believed that travel is a force for the good.

I have no car, no television, no microwave, but I have seen the world and always believed that it is more valuable to experience things than to own.

It was then worrying to read the following passages in it [Easyazon_link Identifier = ”0062316095 ″ Locale =” Us ”Tag =” ATBO0C-20 ″] Sapiens, the international bestseller of the historian Yuval Noah Harari.

Even what people think is the most personal wishes is usually programmed by the imaginary order. For example, let's think of the popular wish to go on vacation abroad. There is nothing natural or obvious about that. A chimpanzee-alpha male would never come up with the idea of ​​using his forces to go on vacation in the area of ​​a neighboring chimpanzee gang. The elite of the ancient Egypt pretended their fortune to build pyramids and have their corpses mummified, but none of them thought of shopping in Babylon or taking a skiing holiday in Phoenicia. People today spend a lot of money on vacation abroad because they believe in the myths of consumer romance.

The romance tells us that we have to have as many different experiences as possible to make the best of our human potential. We have to open up a wide range of emotions; We have to try different types of relationships; We have to try different kitchens; We have to learn to appreciate different styles of music. One of the best ways to do all of this is to free yourself from our daily routine, to leave our familiar surroundings behind and travel to distant countries where we can "experience" the culture, smells, the taste and norms of others. We always hear the romantic myths about "how a new experience opened my eyes and changed my life".

Romanticism that promotes variety fits the consumption perfectly. Her marriage emerged the infinite “market of experiences” on which the modern tourism industry is founded. The tourism industry does not sell flight tickets and hotel rooms. It sells experiences. Paris is not a city, India is not a country - both are experiences whose consumption expand our horizon, exploit our human potential and make us happier.

The case is made so objectively, so convincing and without a hint of pointed speed that it is difficult to argue against it.

Only two weeks ago I wrote about our experience with watch watching in Mirissa, where 20 boats chased a single blue whale. The creature had clearly become the goods: an experience package that we could take home as well as a duty -free handbag or a bottle of whiskey under the arm.

Instead of Volvos and iPads, we buy travelers tigers, temples and tribal villages. Walsafari? $ 100. Nile cruise? $ 1,000. A self -esteem? Priceless.

alt = “”> dream time instead of Volvos and iPads buy travelers tigers, temple and tribal villages

The outdoor area is not impermeable. We may be able to enter parks and public land free of charge, but the periphery is a billion dollar industry: hiking shoes and crampons, goose mood jackets, gaps and gopros.

It is clear that travel is actually a form of consumption, which leads us to a second question: is that a problem?

Well, no - or at least nothing more than the material equivalent - but I think that we, who we often travel, should be aware of the commercial nature of our noble passion.

If we can accept and internalize the fact that we are as consumers as everyone else, that would help us do three things.

Firstly, we would encourage us to reduce our footprint; to choose less effective travel species; And use less consuming hotels and services. Traveling as a number of transactions would remove part of the romance and encourage us to make practical, well -founded decisions about what and how much we consume.

alt = "Peruvian girl who photographs locals"> Dream time would you pay the child of a stranger on the home so that it poses for you?

If you understand that you not only enjoy a vacation, but also buy part of the girl, would you behave in the same way? If the answer is yes, I would ask if you would pay the child of a stranger to pose for you on your home.

We would see that we are not enlightened or superior; that, like everyone else, we find our way through this crazy capitalist world and simply do our best to be happy.

100,000 years ago at least six types of people lived on earth. Today there is only one left. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species prevail in the fight for supremacy? Sapiens traces the fascinating history of humanity.

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