Future of Travel

Travel is easier, more accessible, and more tempting than ever before in today's world. But what impact is our globetrotting having on local communities and the environment?

From his own experiences spending time in countries from Spain to Argentina to Japan, travel writer Daniel Maurer has seen first-hand the impact of growing cultural homogenization and anger at the tourists driving it. Speaking to locals and immigrants, activists and protestors, he hears of the problems of rising living costs, overcrowding, anti-social behaviour and the erosion of local traditions and ways of life caused by overtourism. Some cities already have plans in place to combat it, including tourist taxes, carbon emission targets and Airbnb bans, and in the coming years, more will take drastic measures to tackle not only a flood of tourists but of a growing worldwide workforce of “location-independent professionals."

Technological advances are also changing the way we interact with the world, and the future promises amazing things from flying cars to VR headsets to AI travel influencers and chatbots. But there’s a constant battle between technology making things more easily accessible, and the need to reduce human impact on the world.

What choices might we make when it comes to travelling in the future, and can we become more impact-conscious, making more sustainable and thoughtful decisions?

Daniel Maurer is an award-winning food, culture and travel journalist who has written for outlets such as The New York Times, New York magazine, Thrillist, The Art Newspaper, Eater, The Daily Beast, Atlas Obscura, and others. He won two James Beard Media Awards while chief editor of Grub Street, a pioneering restaurant blog that he co-founded at New York Magazine. He has spent the past few years as a digital nomad, living out of houseboat hotels in Berlin and Prague, cave homes in Andalucia, poo-emoji cabins on Lake Titicaca, campervans in the Swiss Alps, and at one point a former cult leader's compound in Utah. He currently lives in Barcelona.