You can leave your country without leaving your bubble. That’s the real issue.
Let’s be honest: most travel today is just expensive escapism wrapped in filters. But it doesn’t have to be. Because travel isn’t the problem—how we do it is.
In her provocative article “The Case Against Travel” (1), the associate professor of philosophy Agnes Callard argues that travel—despite its romanticized reputation—is little more than an ego-boosting, self-centered pursuit fueled by vanity and generating cultural disrespect. Since its publication in 2023, this article has not ceased to shock and elicit angry reactions.
And yet, I feel compelled to add my voice to the conversation—not to defend mass tourism, but to shift the lens entirely.
Because the real issue isn’t travel itself. It’s what kind of travel we’re talking about—and why we do it.
The Case for Travel—When It’s Done Right
You can guess that, as a long-time expat who’ve moved across boarders 7 times, I have a bit of experience to share regarding travel.
Thanks to decades as an expatriate, I’ve come to see travel as something far richer than a checklist of sights or a quest for the perfect Instagram post. I invite you to think of your next trip not as a vacation, but as an emotional journey—one that can carry meaning, reflection, and connection.
For me, a trip – be it for an extended weekend or a 1.5 month holiday “à la française” – is an emotional journey with a deeper meaning. When you travel, go beyond visiting a list of the places that a in every guidebook or doing the activities that are on everyone’s bucket list. – Give a second look at the recommendations from travel apps – You don’t want to be heading straight into the tourist traps, Instagram-able places where thousands of tourists will be queuing to take the same photo as you, in exactly the same spot. What’s the point of that?
Against Travel? No—but Definitely Against Tourists !
Mass tourism often feels like an invasion—eroding local culture and feeding a tourism industry that caters to caricature. I’m baffled by the new breed of travelers who stage their lives for social media, using destinations as little more than colorful backdrops. How can they open their hearts to the people or the place when their attention is fixed on the next hashtag or filter? It’s not exploration—it’s performance.
I really don’t get the point about the new generation of travellers who are so concerned about their social media popularity that they get completely self-involved, taking their show from location to location, oblivious to their surroundings. How can they open their minds or hearts to the place or its people, as they collect destinations like charms on a bracelet and brag about crossing places off their bucket lists?
What If Your Bucket List Is Just a To-Do List for Your Ego?
I saw this recently in the Monet room at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, where the famed Nymphéas envelop you in stillness. I sat, absorbing the tranquility—only to watch a procession of young tourists breeze through, snapping selfies with exaggerated poses and zero eye contact with the actual painting. They left without even seeing it. I imagine it’s the same before the Mona Lisa, now housed in her own special chamber to accommodate the photo-hungry crowds.
Let’s not even get started on the environmental cost. It’s so sad, the toll that this type of tourism has, on the environment and preservation of the local places and people.
In Defense of Travel (But Not the Instagram Kind)
But travel can be meaningful. It can be humbling. It can be sacred. It’s about cultivating your own relationship with a place, connecting with the culture, and being grateful—deeply grateful—that you have the privilege to be there at all. Maybe we need a “Marie Kondo” approach to photography: only take the picture if it sparks real joy. Let’s not bury our memories under thousands of digital files. The most vivid images are the ones etched in emotion, not megapixels.
The key is departing in search of something special and dear to you, and you only : inspiration, connection, reunion, restoration. It can be in preparation for a future chapter in your life or some closure with something in the past. When we stop chasing the perfect photo, we begin to see with the heart.
Rethinking Travel: From Bucket Lists to Soulful Wandering
As writer David Cogswell aptly put it in response to Callard’s piece “Ultimately, I guess where I differ with this article is not in the facts, but in the attitude” (2). My kind of travel is well encapsulated in the world “wanderlust” : “a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world” (wikipedia)(3).
I agree. Travel doesn’t have to be shallow or exploitative. When done with mindfulness and heart, it’s a journey inward as much as outward. In unfamiliar places, we stumble upon parts of ourselves we didn’t know were there—like a new muscle group aching the day after a surprising workout. Trust me—I’ve felt it.
The Jeju Test: Two Types of Travelers
Last week, I visited Jeju Island, off the southern coast of South Korea, with this very reflection in mind. Jeju is a paradox: a haven for both mindful exploration and tourist kitsch. Since the 1970s, it’s been a magnet for honeymooners, spawning a wave of garish attractions—cheesy photo ops, over-themed accommodations, and some truly oddball “museums.” But venture a little further—beyond the parking lots, off the glossy brochures—and Jeju reveals its quieter, wilder side: volcanic hikes, empty coastal trails, sleepy villages. There, the only audience is nature. And when you greet a local with a simple “Annyeong haseyo,” they return your smile with genuine warmth.
So, travel ! — But travel with intention. Travel not to impress, but to feel. Not to collect, but to connect. Because sometimes, the farthest you go is the closest you get—to yourself.
The most meaningful journeys don’t just change your view—they change your perspective
- https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-case-against-travel
- https://www.travelresearchonline.com/blog/index.php/2023/07/thoughts-on-the-case-against-travel/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderlust
Bénédicte / The Great Floating Tribe
