Today I have for you yet another addition to the list of things you don’t (necessarily) need to buy. In addition to kids’ toys and skincare products, I’ve been questioning the role of travel in my life for some time now.
Some context I should disclose: I’ve been blessed with incredible travel opportunities in my 4+ decades on this planet. I have, at very different periods in life, backpacked solo in South America, visited 5-star European hotels, stayed with locals in exotic destinations, traveled to multiple foreign countries for work and leisure, lived a year as an ex-pat in Poland, and worked for a thoughtful travel company for over a decade. I’ve traveled a lot.
These have been enriching experiences, but also have helped me recognize the value of non-traveling, which is a lifestyle I’ve now come to embrace. I do still travel a tiny bit, mostly to visit loved ones, but my default mode is to not travel.

During my time traveling, immersed in the dynamics of travel and its impacts on local communities, I became convinced we need to reframe how we think about travel on the individual level, and (while harder) on the societal level as well. I’m starting to see burgeoning conversation about this, but these ideas are in their infancy, especially in the US (Europe is further along). People who otherwise are conscientious consumers often think nothing of jetting off on faraway adventures every chance they get, to the praise and envy of peers.
The core problem, as I see it, is we are so narrowly focused on the very real benefits of travel that we tend to ignore its less obvious harmful effects. I’m not talking about losing your luggage or flight delays—those are negatives that mostly just impact the individual traveler and I think we all are aware of them.
I’m referring to what economists call negative externalities, or when the consumption of something has a negative effect on a third party.
Caveats: In wading into this dicey territory, I am trusting that we can handle some nuance here. I know travel is a lifestyle choice for many, and for those who live far from family it’s an unavoidable fact of life. It has been life changing and eye-opening for many people, myself included.
My hope is we can move away from the idea that travel is all bad or all good and instead embrace the idea that it has costs and benefits. In order to be intentional consumers of travel we should consider both when making decisions.
Relatedly, my hope is we can start to understand travel as a form of consumption. And just as we consume anything, from produce to plastic packaging to organizing products, we don’t need to abstain entirely, but rather make intentional choices.
Here are three externalities of travel that are often overlooked but which I believe we should consider when planning a trip:
Cost 1: Strain on over-touristed communities
Lately there seems to be an annual summer wave of articles about overtourism in certain destinations. Overtourism is a new word for many (Google Trends shows it entered the lexicon in 2018), but this phenomenon has been putting a strain on popular destinations for a long time.

While many economies depend on tourism, too much of it can reduce livability and affordability for locals and erode the beauty and culture of a place that increasingly caters to visitors.
Venice, Hawaii, Barcelona, and Paris have been especially vocal about their desire to stem the flow of visitors, and many other communities are joining the discussion. (I realize there are always differing opinions within a given locale about tourists, so I try to notice when governments implement policies to restrict tourism, an indication that there is some level of consensus.)

I’m not trying to shame you if you’ve been to these places or plan to go. It’s a lot to consider. I visited a lot of tourist destinations before I started realizing I didn’t want to be a tourist anymore.
My suggestion is to add some research to your trip planning to understand if the place you’re going to wants visitors. How amazing would it be if we thought of tourism as carefully as we think about visiting someone’s house? We tend to be very considerate when entering someone’s home, and as a tourist we are a guest in the home community of many someones.
Sometimes it’s hard to avoid the crush of tourists when planning that trip of a lifetime. If you do decide to visit a popular destination, there are ways to mitigate the impact of your trip — an off-season visit, focusing on a less popular but equally beautiful spot nearby, staying in an off-the-beaten-path neighborhood and shopping at the local grocery store, and so on. Or even see if there are ways to volunteer or donate while you’re there to have a more positive impact.
I don’t have the answer, just some ideas to consider.
Cost 2: Withdrawal from your home community
When we leave our home community to consume the sights and culture of another community, I wonder about the opportunity cost to our own neighborhoods.
With a week off work and no trip to take, what could we accomplish in our own neighborhoods? Could we spend lazy days on our front porch building a sense of community with passersby? Could we help out a neighbor with a home improvement project? Host a picnic in the local park? Get a massage from a local provider? Learn about birds in the area and go birdwatching (if you’re over 40 this is basically required btw)?
The idea that we need to leave our homes in order to relax seems pervasive among my demographic. I used to feel like a weekend was wasted if we didn’t leave town. I wonder what could change if we created more peace at home (one idea: organize it to run like a machine, just sayin’) and then used our free time to further augment our surroundings.
What if we invested the same amount of time, money and energy we spend on travel (or even just half of it) on staycations? Could we find ways to relax right where we are?
My sense is we’d see a higher return over the long term redirecting our investment into our own communities vs jaunting off to faraway Instagrammable destinations multiple times a year.
Cost 3: Environmental impacts
This is one cost we can tangibly quantify. The environmental impact of travel, and in particular plane travel, is well documented. In response, France has banned short-haul flights where a train alternative exists, and Spain is considering following suit.
Air travel tops the list as most carbon-intensive mode of travel, with short-haul flights least efficient of all.

There are environmental impacts at the destination as well, from cruise ship and transit emissions, to the literal garbage which needs to be removed and processed by local communities.
It’s easy to focus on immediate, tangible environmental issues like the trash you throw away or the energy source that powers your home. But I hear less hand wringing about whether trips are worth the environmental cost, even though the impact might be similar.
I know people who prioritize train travel and think carefully before committing to a plane trip — this is increasingly the norm in parts of Europe so I have hope we can start to think a little differently eventually.
To close, I’ll reiterate I’m not saying you shouldn’t travel. Travel is a wonderful, eye-opening experience that can help us build perspective and empathy with each other. I know as well that not everyone has frequent opportunities to travel so even talking about it in this way is awash in privilege.
My hope is that going forward, instead of focusing solely on what we get out of travel, we also considered the costs our travel extracts on the communities we visit, the communities we leave behind, and the environment. I did lot of travel before becoming conscious of this, and while I do dream about a few big trips in my future, I’ll approach them differently than I did in my past.
I think this is so important to consider! It reminds me of lists I've seen from the National Park Service in the U.S. about certain National Parks that absolutely overrun with visitors now, especially after the lockdown years when many people rediscovered the joy of the great outdoors. Certain high profile destinations were really suffering from crowds (both in the park and the surrounding community) while lesser known ones which are arguably similar and equally amazing languished. At one point they had published a list that went sort of like, "Love Zion? Go to Canyonlands instead!" etc. And it would be so great to have a list that was something like, "Considering Barcelona? Consider [x] instead!" "Thinking about Hawaii? Here are 3 hidden gems to consider instead!" etc. Obviously doesn't address everything you listed but it's something I've been thinking about a lot in terms of "My time on this mortal coil is limited and I'm never going to get everywhere amazing anyway, what's out there that I'm missing simply because it's not a high-profile destination so I've never heard of it?"
What a good article. I started reading it with my back up thinking it was mighty privileged to be suggesting that travel might not be entirely beneficial. This is as a human who's been dying to go overseas for like 20 years. When I kept reading my smile kept growing. LOVE the idea of what might be gained by staying around home for a week instead of finding somewhere to drive to.