"The World's Fastest Growing Tourism Destinations"

For todays Monday Travel Motivation I wanted to share a quick video from Afar Media. It’s short and sweet and tells some quick facts on the fastest growing tourism spots (ahem, the title of their video and this post). Here’s a quick quote from their video as well,

To discover the places that only in-the-know travelers are visiting, we dug into the data to find the countries that saw the largest percentage change in international arrival growth between 2017 and 2018. Some spots like Vietnam, Nepal, and Egypt topped the list of fastest-growing destinations once again. Others like Comoros, a small island nation in eastern Africa, truly took us by surprise. But the most shocking addition to this year’s list is the country that took the number one spot.

Please, have a look at their video and leave some thoughts and comments if you feel so inclined.

Are any of your travel destinations this year on their list? Personally, two locations from my past are on the list (Egypt and Turkey) and I highly recommend a visit.

Thanks for reading/watching. I hope you feel some inspiration for the start of your week.

Write That Bad Review

Here in South America, I had one of the best times and the best travel experiences, but that's not always the case

Yes, I mean exactly what the title says, but in a professional manner as most non objectively as you can. Unbiased, unfiltered, and unsponsored reviews are very important in todays world. From all the jobs that include product reviews, travel deals and packages, and even down to the runnings of a restaurant - we need to keep each other accountable. 

Now this isn't to say that you should go hate spam something (or someone, shame on you) just for kicks and giggles. I'm not advocating for any kind of that activity whatsoever. Hate comments and attacks on brands/people/products that are unnecessary will hopefully not stand a chance to all the positive comments and joy, but lets face it it's a difficult task. What I'm stressing is the honest and open review about something (particularly travel related) that truly was not up to standards. This doesn't have to mean the highest standards and luxury of all time, but there is a happy medium and an expected kind of etiquette for travel experiences. There are expectations that should be upheld and I'm here to talk about why we need to write those "bad" reviews.

Bad reviews can be seen all over travel apps, restaurant adds, Facebook, etc. The thing that gets overlooked, however, is the word of mouth to your immediate friends. I felt so passionately about a bad experience recently and I noticed that I quickly spoke about it with my closest friends first. Throughout the years as a travel writer this has been a pattern. If I had a bad run in with a company, with a location, or any kind of travel related service I would almost immediately tell my friends before making it more public or publishing something. As if almost a warning to those who might be affected most immediately I wanted to let people know just in case they were about to make my similar mistake. On a larger scale, I do the same here with my company. This is for many and I advise you to take a situation into your own hands and deal with it as professionally as you can. Emphasizing again on professional because truth be told no one likes a Facebook rant about something irrelevant.

I fully intend to come back and talk about specific and recent situations I find myself in, but for now I wanted to preface the fact that travel experiences and situations can swiftly get better upon honest customer review. You may not be a “seasoned world traveler” and that has merit too. As humans, it's pretty obvious when your time isn't valued, you're overcharged, or you're underwhelmed. We need forthright reviews. Not a sponsored post thats not genuine, not a paid ad with an actor, and certainly not a random hate comment on an app.

We have the power to better everyones travel experience so lets do so as often as we see fit.

-CS

Public Protection

It's something that a lot of people don't really think too much about. Something that may seem like a right and not really a luxury or necessity. A topic that doesn't really need discussing because it's only for the tree huggers and hippies. However, the pressing issues of public lands and public protection is very important and in the coming years could very well be vital. 

This is not some hyperbole or some dramatic explanation about climate change and all the emotional attachments that may come with it. It's simply to explain and bring awareness to the fact that our public lands, here in America and worldwide, are extremely important. Sierra Club, an environmental organization founded by preservationist John Muir, sheds light on not only the importance of public lands but shares information about events, calls to action, and other organizations who do the same.

One of the campaigns is "Our Wild America" and it aims to create a network between both land and marine areas to "preserve America's natural, cultural, and recreational heritage,". From Sierra Clubs website they explain Our Wild America as so;

Our Wild America carries on the Sierra Club's long legacy of protecting America's beautiful wildlands. We believe that America's public lands are held in "public trust" for and by all Americans, providing opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors, and come together to share experiences.

With the Our Wild America campaign, the Sierra Club is doubling down in the fight to preserve our wild heritage in the face of threats from mining, drilling, and climate disruption. 

Whichever side of the political spectrum you may lie on remember this - we're all living on this planet together and it's downright outrageous to destroy our lands and valuable resources. Without the protection of public lands there are immediate reactions to the communities nearby. These reactions can then spread. Water supply can be threatened, ecosystems can be thrown off, and food supply can be tampered with or destroyed. Pictured above is a photo from the Galapagos Islands that I took in 2011. It's one of the most protected areas on the planet and they still have their problems. However, think about the park near your home, the stream or river that goes through your town, and the national parks in your state. If those aren't protected what do you think will happen to you, your family, and your locale?

You might scoff at it having any effect on your life, but let me be clear - if you have any plans of generations after your own you should get more informed. 

-CS

Again, I have included some added information and items for you to check out if you so please. Simply click the images below for more.

Also, if you are looking into more details about The Sierra Club and how you can make a difference please click here and visit their site. Thank you.

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