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How to avoid ‘localwashing’ while on vacation
Have you noticed how companies of all sizes are touting their local credentials these days? Whether you are shopping at your local supermarket or deciding on your next vacation destination, advertisements are replete with images of locally sourced fresh food or locally guided unique vacation services. And why not? “Buy local” and “local first” campaigns [...]
Voluntourism vs. Local Travel – making a (sustainable) difference abroad
Many travellers get to a point in their experience when they want to make a difference in the places they’ve visited. Whether it’s by donating money to a local charity, spending a day at an orphanage, taking a week to help build a school, or spending months working on a local development project, voluntourism has [...]
Going local in Chile!
Traditional tourism, sitting on a comfortable bus and taking pictures of the main landmarks of a place can certainly be fun and interesting. But there’s nothing better than going in deeper into the local culture of a destination and exploring off the beaten path. At least that’s what I try to do whenever I travel [...]
In motion: local transport from around the world
This autumn, The Travel Word team has been thinking a lot about transportation. All too often, tourist transit and local transport are two separate spheres in the same destination. They just don’t intersect. Tourists seek the comfort and convenience of flights, taxis or tourist bus services that have been developed with them in mind, while [...]
Local Travel inspiration – Stockholm tips by locals!
Every month, I share some of the latest tips from one of our (currently) 38 Spotted by Locals blogs – with you. Today: tips by our locals from Stockholm (Sweden). 1) Bauer – A trendy bar in a trendy neighborhood with great cocktails (pictured above) Stockholm local Anna Ostman: “What the interior decorators were on when [...]
Culturezest – share food at your house with visitors
A while ago I found out about a fantastic local travel tool / website called CultureZest. Culturezest is a not for profit website where you can sign up to have a meal at somebody’s house, or invite people at your house. Obviously, sharing food is a great way to experience a new culture and meet [...]
Stories from a local traveler
I don’t need to go anywhere except my front porch to encounter life in its finest form. Living in Los Angeles has forever redirected my reasons and motives for traveling. When I travel, I often think of my LA days as a reference point for the type of openness, ingenuity and experiences I seek to [...]
Conscious travellers want suppliers to think globally but act locally
Because most visitors to a place come from another and because most other places are far away, suppliers of tourism services have inevitably had to adopt a global perspective. Considerable attention is given to understanding cultural and linguistic differences of various source markets and to researching and deploying the different channels of distribution at work [...]
Experiential travel with your smartphone!
There are tons of travel apps that tell you where to go to see the highlights of a city or country. It’s quite difficult to find an app though that helps you experience destinations like a local. Lately, a few very cool experiential travel apps were launched – I encourage you to check them out [...]