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Video Spotlight: Local Voices from Costa Rica
When you travel, one of the easiest and most meaningful things you can do is meet the locals. To the best of your ability – no matter what the language barriers – strike up a conversation. Find out their story, their culture, their way of life. During our last trip to Costa Rica to film our […]
Local travel suppliers have new direct-sales service through Your Holiday Promotion, free through September
With a view to becoming the largest and most trusted holiday clearinghouse on the web, Your Holiday Promotion, a new service for special travel deals and offers, now connects local travel- and leisure-sector merchants directly with travel agents and independent travelers. Unlike most travel sites, Your Holiday Promotion is not a commission-earning middleman, but a […]
Going local in the Sacred Valley, Cusco, Peru
During a trip to Cusco in Peru, I was lucky enough to take an Urban Adventure tour with Intrepid Travel. Their Sacred Valley Tour takes you to the famous area and allows you to have a very local experience – visiting a market, tasting Chicha beer, trying local village activities, and eating typical foods. In […]
Swiss valley votes against millions in gold to protect mountains
This month we were inspired to learn that the residents of a remote Swiss valley community have voted against receiving tens of millions of pounds each in favour of preserving their cultural heritage and environment. The incredible vote was cast by the valley’s 450 inhabitants in April (2012) after it was discovered that their area […]
Why aren’t more bloggers writing about responsible (and local) travel?
Most mainstream newspapers and magazines today give periodic lip service to the evolution of travel, acknowledging that more and more travellers consider themselves ‘ecotourists,’ but not really giving their readers enough to feed their ethical penchants. Hamstrung by shrinking budgets, market-deaf advertisers and cumbersome bureaucracy, major travel media look like they’re being outpaced by the […]
In motion: local transport from around the world
This autumn, The Travel Word team has been thinking a lot about transportation. All too often, tourist transit and local transport are two separate spheres in the same destination. They just don’t intersect. Tourists seek the comfort and convenience of flights, taxis or tourist bus services that have been developed with them in mind, while […]
How to become a responsible traveler: 5 tips from a local travel expert
I remember the first time I saw ‘local travel’ mentioned in writing. I don’t recall the actual article, but I must have been thinking about food; I read ‘local’ as ‘lo-cal’ travel (i.e. travel on a low-calorie diet). My confusion didn’t last long, but it made for some welcome chuckles while I pondered the possibilities. […]
Are couchsurfing networks legitimate local travel?
When we launched the Local Travel Movement, we stated our belief that Local Travel is greater than the sum of its parts and that the Local Travel Movement could be a rallying point through which, by working together, we can give locals a real voice, engage travellers and develop a dialogue within the travel industry. […]
Get lost, go local!
My last post about the misunderstood merits of Local Travel appears to have hit a positive nerve. It seems there’s a choir out there of local travellers who welcome a little preaching. Amen. So from my fine pulpit, let me crack open the Great Explorers’ Almanac and thumb to the right page for a decidedly […]