The Local Travel Movement drives us forward, as we edge closer to a more social travel experience.

Photo by Darron Raw, Swazi Trails

The fundamentals necessary for a more ethical interaction with the world have become a lot more widely understood and accepted within the travel arena over recent years. There was eco travel, responsible travel, green travel, and the latest incarnation – local travel. All fighting the same corner, generally speaking, all attempting to advance the same thinking. Local travel introduces ‘experience’ into the mix of reasons to subscribe to this movement, and invigorates it once again with a nice facelift.

There’s been a lot of talk and attempts to spread values but the ultimate change will come when the travel experience is transformed through the widespread adoption of new technology on mobile devices. The next major shift in how we travel will come as a result of the growth in geolocation functionality. ‘Social travel’ could be a real game changer for the industry and a catalyst for the wider uptake of a more ‘local travel experience‘. We’re already catching glimpses of what’s possible in this space as businesses start to play on Foursquare and Gowalla, travellers share updates on Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz which we can search by their proximity to us.

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