Going Local Travel

Following on from my recent post about travel buzzwords, I wanted to share a link to an amusing piece about five new types of travel. ‘Bungee climbing’ and ‘cramping’ get a mention, but my favourite has to be the proposed ESL tour. It’s inspired by the success of Eat Pray Love-themed tours. “Based on Lynn [...]

This week marks the 2nd anniversary of Going Local Travel. Back in August 2008, I hesitated before I wrote my first post. Would I keep it up? Two years later, my dashboard here is showing 165 posts + 410 comments. I’m quite shocked it has lasted this long, and I can’t see myself packing it [...]

, 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 [...]

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I really can’t emphasis this point enough: Couchsurfing.com is fantastic for language learners. And not just for hosts/guests. It can be a godsend in your home town too and it needn’t involve a single couch. I have raved about Couchsurfing’s Buenos Aires forum before (see: Top three ways [...]

I just read an interesting post on the At Home in Tuscany blog. In it the author addressed a decision by Grantourismo couple (and local travel supporters) Lara Dunston and Terry Carter to stay in Puglia. I’m not qualified enough on Italy to comment on this but the author wrote: Of all the hidden gems for [...]

Is Couchsurfing bad for local travel? Well, this is a new conundrum. Sort of. Couchsurfing has, of course, always had it’s critics. And so it should. There is no ‘perfect’ way to travel. Everything has pros and cons. And I’ve always been keen to tackle those belonging to couchsurfing. A very interesting blog over at the new Local Travel Movement site caught my eye today. Writer Ethan Gelber has picked up on some comments suggesting that couchsurfing sites do not fit in with the ‘local travel’ idea.

Write a local travel story, win US$500. That doesn’t sound like a bad deal, does it? LeapLocal.org is running a travel-writing competition – with a ‘local travel’ edge and some great cash prizes. I’m looking forward to being on judging panel for this and a separate competition where participants are being asked to nominate their favourite local guide.

This week has seen the launch of LocalTravelMovement.com. It’s aim is to bring together supporters of local travel and it will act as a platform for the debate that is already going on around the web. I was involved in some of the early discussions and it got me thinking about trying to define ‘local travel’.

Dancing Matt is back. He’s just released a new video in conjunction with the World Cup in South Africa (above). It’s not his best perhaps, but I still love Dancing Matt. Who doesn’t? And who doesn’t want to be him? Imagine – this guy does a silly dances for a living. Yes, I’ll say that again: this is [...]

I have a tip for you. I haven’t had much luck with it until now. None of my friends heading to Peru have taken me up on it. Why? Not because they don’t believe me, but generally because when it comes to visiting Machu Pichhu they’ve tied themselves into rigid schedules. A few days in Cusco [...]