Is traveling just another form of consumption?

Is traveling just another form of consumption?

Traveling is touted as a panacea for all sorts of illnesses. But isn't it just another form of consumption, packaged and packaged to generate dollars?

When I was 10 years old, my father had his first heart attack. As a result, I became a passionate non-smoker. When I was 13, I saw two cows being slaughtered in Bangladesh. As a result, I became a vegetarian.

Over the next two decades, I, the non-smoking vegetarian, developed a keen awareness of the fine line between conscientious environmentalism and smug assholery. (Note: the latter lectures about how you should live your life, the former doesn't.)

There are numerous beliefs and pursuits, such as vegetarianism and non-smoking, that can cause excessive levels of complacency. The most important of these is traveling.

When Peter and I started Atlas & Boots, we wanted to resist the cult of travel and avoid becoming the garrulous evangelists that people avoid at parties because all their sentences start with "When I was in...".

old=““>Atlas & Boots“When I was in South America” – a phrase we all dread at parties

At times we have wavered in our resolve, but on the whole we have tried to share our journeys without telling you that you should/could/must follow our example.

I won't lie, though: beneath my guard, I've always believed that travel is a force for good.

I don't have a car, a TV, or a microwave, but I've seen the world and always believed that experiencing things is more valuable than owning them.

It was then disturbing to read the following passages in [easyazon_link identifier=”0062316095″ locale=”US” tag=”atbo0c-20″]Sapiens, the international bestseller by historian Yuval Noah Harari.

Even what people consider to be their most personal desires are usually programmed through the imaginary order. Let's think, for example, of the popular desire to go on vacation abroad. There is nothing natural or obvious about it. A chimpanzee alpha male would never think of using his powers to vacation in the territory of a neighboring chimpanzee band. The elite of ancient Egypt spent their fortunes building pyramids and mummifying their corpses, but none of them thought about shopping in Babylon or taking a ski vacation in Phoenicia. People today spend a lot of money on vacations abroad because they believe in the myths of consumerism.

Romanticism tells us that in order to make the most of our human potential, we must have as many different experiences as possible. We must open ourselves to a wide range of emotions; we need to try different types of relationships; we have to try different cuisines; We need to learn to appreciate different styles of music. One of the best ways to do all this is to break free from our daily routine, leave our familiar surroundings behind and travel to distant lands where we can “experience” the culture, smells, tastes and norms of other people. We always hear the romantic myths about “how a new experience opened my eyes and changed my life.”

Romance that promotes variety is a perfect match for consumption. Their marriage gave rise to the endless “market of experiences” on which the modern tourism industry is based. The tourism industry does not sell airline tickets and hotel rooms. It sells experiences. Paris is not a city, India is not a country - both are experiences whose consumption is intended to broaden our horizons, fulfill our human potential and make us happier.

The case is made so matter-of-factly, so persuasively and without a hint of sophistry that it is difficult to argue against it.

Just two weeks ago I wrote about our whale watching experience in Mirissa, where 20 boats hunted a single blue whale. The creature had clearly become a commodity: a package of experiences that we could take home with us in the same way as a duty-free handbag or a bottle of whiskey under our arm.

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

old=““>DreamtimeInstead of Volvos and iPads, travelers buy tigers, temples and tribal villages

The outside area is also not impermeable. We may be able to access parks and public lands for free, but the periphery represents a billion-dollar industry: hiking boots and crampons, goose-down jackets, gaiters and GoPros.

It's clear that traveling is actually a form of consumption, which leads us to a second question: Is this a problem?

Well, no – or at least no more than the material equivalent – ​​but I think that we who travel often should be aware of the mercantile nature of our noble passion.

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

Firstly, it would encourage us to reduce our footprint; choosing less impactful modes of travel; and use less consuming hotels and services. Treating travel as a series of transactions would remove some of the romance and encourage us to make practical, informed decisions about what and how much we consume.

alt="Peruvian girl photographing locals">DreamtimeWould you pay a stranger's child to pose for you on home soil?

Second, it would encourage more ethical behavior. In Bolivia we saw a very young girl in traditional clothing offering tourists a photo in exchange for money. Many are happy to oblige.

If they understood that they were not only enjoying a vacation, but also buying a part of the girl, would they behave the same way? If the answer is yes, I would ask if they would pay a stranger's child to pose for them on home soil.

It concludes by highlighting that, despite our deepest beliefs, we travelers may not be much different than the 9-to-5ers, the commuters, the shopaholics and fashionistas.

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

At least six species of humans lived on Earth 100,000 years ago. Today there is only one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species prevail in the fight for dominance? Sapiens traces the fascinating history of humanity.

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