Opinion
A world of misguided tourism campaigns
Blamed for “casting Australia as a nation of tone-deaf people and drawing on dowdy 50-year-old stereotypes“, the latest Tourism Australia campaign hasn’t gone down well on home shores since launching earlier this week. You can watch ‘There’s Nothing like Australia‘ here, but be warned: jabbing yourself in the ears with hot barbecue tongs would bring […]
Carrying on the local travel tradition in Namibia
It could be said that local travel made me what I am today. At the very least, it brought me to where I am today, which has had a huge impact on who I am. Many years ago, at a time in my life when I was searching for something, I travelled to Namibia. Reality […]
The Local Travel Movement
“The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness […]
Going local in Marrakech, Morocco
My passion for Morocco came to me over 10 years ago during a trip in the south of the country. Since then I have been back many times, but the short visits ended one cold, wet, December afternoon in London when I received a call from a new contact asking me to spend a week […]
8 reasons to start traveling like a local!
We started Spotted by Locals in 2008 because we had experienced traveling like a local would be a more fun and more rewarding way of traveling. Since then, we’ve traveled to 25 cities where we met almost 300 potential locals who love writing about the city they love, for an interview in their favorite spot. […]
Tripping’s view on Local Travel
Tripping is a hospitality network where travelers meet locals for travel tips, shared cups of coffee and even home stays. We believe that cultural exchange makes the world a better place and we use Tripping to connect with each other. When you’re traveling, you can use Tripping to connect safely with locals who will introduce […]
What can ‘local travel’ learn from responsible travel’s chequered past
‘Local travel’ describes what many independent travellers have known for years – get off the beaten track, choose local, choose small and invariably you will choose well. But will the new ‘Local Travel’ Movement survive and prosper? The concept of ethically responsible travel (deeply interwoven with local travel) has been around for many years now. […]
The travel industry’s dilemma
Bridging the gap between independent and organized group travel An age-old conflict exists between travelers who prefer to strike out on their own – independents – and those who prefer to join organized tours – groupies. Independents refuse to part with their sense of self-driven freedom and adventure. The spontaneity of flying solo with a […]