The Better Travel Podcast

We’re wrapping up Season 3 with a moving conversation with Dr. Tonya Matthews, the president and CEO of the International African American Museum (IAAM), which is due to open in Charleston, South Carolina later this year.

Dr. Matthews talks about the inspiration for the museum; how the museum approaches storytelling; and how she hopes the museum will inspire courage in its visitors. She also shares how the IAAM will help to shape Charleston’s tourism landscape.

Plus, listen up at the end of the episode, when Paige offers a preview of what to expect for Season 4.

Thanks so much for listening!

Links and things

How do you think about the climate impact of travel? For a lot of people, this is a complex question — both technically and emotionally.

Our guest this week, Christina Beckmann, is here to help us navigate this topic. Christina is the co-founder of Tomorrow’s Air, a collective of travelers who are investing in the scale-up of carbon removal from the atmosphere. Christina talks about how technologies like direct air capture are evolving, and shares how individuals can help support a long-term shift toward a healthier climate.

Links and things

What does “immersive travel” actually mean, and how can you try this yourself?

That’s the question we’re exploring in today’s episode, and here to help us is Miyuki Seguchi, a travel adviser, tour guide, podcast host, and creator of the Japan Travel Essentials Course.

Miyuki talks about what immersive travel means to her and how travelers can embrace these experiences themselves. She also shares her thoughts on overcoming language barriers; offers tips on cultural experiences that you can have in Japan; and shares her thoughts on “overtourism” in one of Japan’s most popular destinations.

Thanks so much for listening!

Links and things

It's been a big year for travel, so I thought we'd wrap up 2022 with an episode that looks back at 3 big travel takeaways from the year. These are trends that I've seen cutting across countries, destinations and sectors of the industry, and they're forces that I think will continue to shape the travel world in the year ahead. Plus, listen up for a special invitation from me at the end of the episode!

What do you think? What were your travel takeaways from this year? 

Thanks so much for listening, and hope you have a great start to 2023!

Say hello

Award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji joins the show to share what he finds so captivating about Bolivia, a nation rich in culture and history that’s also home to deserts, jungles and snow-capped mountains.

Shafik — who has written and reported from six continents — also talks about his career as a journalist and guidebook writer, and reflects on how the right kind of travel writing can empower people to have more positive and meaningful experiences when they travel.

Thank you so much for listening!

Links and things

Venice is often described as a classic example of "overtourism" in Europe. But what's really going on in this famous Italian city? 

This week, Italian journalist Anna Momigliano joins the show to talk about the history and evolution of tourism in Venice, and to share how visitors to this beloved city can actually have a positive impact during their stay. As Anna explains, it all comes down to how, when, and *for how long* you visit the city. Listen up for her specific suggestions for how to plan a fun and meaningful trip to Venice. 

Thanks so much for joining us! 

Zakia Moulaoui Guery, CEO of Invisible Cities, shares how her company creates exceptional travel experiences that allow visitors to give back to the people and places they visit.

Thanks so much for listening!

Links and things

Why is the beach synonymous with paradise for so many of us? How do beach resorts change the communities around them? And will they manage to survive rising sea levels?

In the first episode of Season 3, Paige speaks with Sarah Stodola, author of “The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit and Peril at the Beach,” for a deep dive on one of humanity’s favorite travel destinations.

Thanks so much for listening!

Links and things

For the Season 2 finale, Paige speaks to Bruce Poon Tip, who is both the founder of a major adventure travel company and an executive producer of “The Last Tourist,” an award-winning documentary that makes the case for why we need to dramatically rethink the way we travel.

Bruce shares the film’s origin story and explains why he wanted the movie to convey a message of hope: that travel — done right — can bring wealth into some of the world’s poorest areas, creating jobs and alleviating poverty.

Bruce also talks about G Adventures, the travel company he founded in 1990, and shares the company’s innovative approach to making sure they give back to the communities they visit.

Plus, listen up for a (somewhat spicy) language lesson in Greek!

This week, we’re talking about safari tourism — but not the kind of safari you might be thinking of. Instead of looking for giraffes, lions and elephants on the savannas of Kenya or Tanzania, we’re heading to Italy to go wolf tracking and to Romania to spy wild European bison.

Our guide here is Aukje van Gerven of the European Safari Company and Rewilding Europe. Aukje tells us about rewilding trends in Europe and describes how wildlife tourism is opening up new opportunities — both for visitors, and for the people living in Europe’s rural areas.

Plus, Paige gets a fascinating history lesson and language lesson from Sierra Leonean star Vickie Remoe!

Thanks so much for listening. We’ll be back next week with the final episode of Season 2!

Resources

This week, we’re bringing you a conversation with Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler! Tony joins the show to tell the story of the company’s founding and to talk about how guidebooks have changed the way we travel. He also reminisces about the “Hippie Trail” across Asia in the 1970s and tells us about the strangest place he’s ever been.

Plus, listen up for our latest language lesson, in which our producer Artemis learns a beautiful and meaningful phrase in Czech.

Next week, we’ll be off for a quick Spring Break! We’ll be back on April 7 with the penultimate episode of Season 2.

Thank you so much for listening!

Resources

Uganda’s first wildlife vet, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, joins the show this week to share how tourism has affected the lives of the wildlife and residents in and around Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in southwestern Uganda.

Dr. Gladys, who was recently named a UN Champion of the Earth, is the founder and CEO of both Conservation Through Public Health and Gorilla Conservation Coffee. She joins the show to talk about the important economic opportunities that have come with gorilla trekking, as well the health challenges that have arisen as gorillas and humans have come into closer contact. She shares how Uganda’s gorilla population has grown since tourism began in the area, and explains why they recently had their first gorilla poaching incident in a very long time.

Plus, listen up for Paige’s language lesson with a native of a European micro-state that’s famous for its luxury tourism.

Thanks so much for listening, and have a great week!

Resources

This week, Paige is joined by Erin Elizabeth Hynes, an experienced and enthusiastic traveler, travel writer and travel podcaster who shares some excellent advice for her fellow women wanderers, as well as some of her travel stories from Venice, Morocco, Greece and beyond.

But the episode kicks off with this week’s language lesson (in Japanese!), which is taught by Miyuki Seguchi, a traveler, tour guide and podcast host whose aim is to help people have immersive and transformative experiences when they visit Japan.

This week, we’re exploring a topic that’s on the minds of a lot of travelers these days: short-term tourist rentals, which is a service offered by a lot of companies, but perhaps the most well known is Airbnb.

First up, Dr. Daniel Guttentag of the College of Charleston joins the show to explain why short-term rentals hold so much appeal, and to tell us how these kinds of services have evolved over the years. He also describes some of the impacts of short-term rentals and offers some advice for travelers who are looking to have a positive impact when they book a rental stay.

Next, Paige speaks to Jonathan Reyes, co-founder of a cooperative called Fairbnb that is taking a collaborative approach to offering rented tourist accommodation in popular destinations in Europe and beyond. 

Plus, listen up for a few snippets from Paige’s recent trip to Florence with her family.

Thank you so much for listening!

Resources

This week, we speak to Mark Smith of the Man in Seat 61 and Anna Hughes of Flight Free UK to find out why a lot of travelers are switching from planes to trains, and to learn about some of the exciting new train routes we can explore.

Anna Hughes is the director of Flight Free UK, which is working to inspire people to embrace trains and other forms of travel that have a low-carbon impact – including by asking people to pledge to take a year off flying. She shares how they aim to see the pledge not as a sacrifice, but as an opportunity to explore different (and maybe more rewarding!) forms of travel.

Mark Smith is the founder and CEO of The Man in Seat 61, a fantastic online resource with information on train routes, fares and timings in Europe, the UK and beyond. He joins the show to talk about why he’s seeing growing interest in train travel, to offer tips for how train travelers can find good deals, and to share his favorite rail routes in Europe.

Plus, listen up for our latest language lesson, in which Paige learns a wonderful phrase in Dutch.

Thank you so much for listening!

Resources

This week's guest is Bala Amarasekaran of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Bala talks about the challenges facing the area's chimps and how he thinks responsible tourism is part of the solution. He also describes how tourism in Sierra Leone is evolving, and why he hopes to spread the word about everything the country has to offer. Plus, listen up for this week’s language lesson, in which our producer, Artemis, learns a phrase in Welsh! 

Resources 

Traveling can stir up a lot of questions and emotions, not least with regard to race, privilege and power. 

Our guest this week, Dr. Anu Taranath, is here to help us navigate our uncomfortable travel experiences. She explains how we can move beyond guilt when we travel, and find ways to use our difficult moments or encounters to promote justice and compassion. 

Dr. Anu is a speaker, facilitator and professor who is also the author of an acclaimed book, "Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World." The winner of a Newsweek Future of Travel award for storytelling, Dr. Anu serves as a racial equity consultant for businesses and organizations that, as she puts, are trying to do better in this broken world that we live in.

This week, Paige is joined by Aziz Abu Sarah, an author, National Geographic explorer, and co-founder of Mejdi Tours, a company that aims to promote peace and understanding through its innovative tours of places like Israel and Palestine, Colombia, the Balkans, Northern Ireland — and Washington, D.C.

Aziz shares how his childhood growing up as a Palestinian in Jerusalem shaped his understanding of the world, and he offers some excellent advice for anyone looking to have more meaningful experiences when they travel.

Plus, listen up for the latest instalment of our language lessons series, in which Paige learns some phrases in Swahili.

Thank you so much for listening!

Resources

This week, we hear from experts at the Whitney Plantation and Monticello -- two tourist sites that are at the frontlines of contemporary discussions about the experiences of enslaved people and the role of slavery in the United States.

Dr. Joy Banner, Director of Communications at the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, describes how the site has created a visitor experience that centers the lives of the enslaved people who lived on the plantation.

Justin Bates, a historical interpreter at Thomas Jefferson’s home of Monticello, shares how he and his colleagues teach guests about the contradictions of Jefferson’s life: that he was both the drafter of the Declaration of Independence and a lifelong slave owner who espoused racist views.

Welcome back for Season 2 of The Better Travel Podcast!

What does “thoughtful travel” look like? What are some concrete things that we can do to ensure that we make the most of our travels while also remaining sensitive to the impact of our presence as visitors?

Two guests offer their expert insight: Amanda Kendle, a travel writer and host of the Thoughtful Travel Podcast, and Emily Thomas, an associate professor of philosophy at Durham University and the author of a fascinating book on the philosophy of travel.

We also have a new installment in our language lessons series! Ilihia Gionson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority joins the show to teach Paige some beautiful words in the Hawaiian language.

Thank you so much for listening!

Resources

For the final episode of Season One, we are delighted to bring you a conversation with American travel legend Rick Steves. Rick is a guidebook author, television and radio host, and the owner of a tour company that has brought hundreds of thousands of travelers to Europe over the years. On the show, Rick speaks passionately about how travel can be a powerful force for peace and human understanding, and he shares what he’s learned about what it’s like to travel during the pandemic.

Toward the end of the episode, Paige speaks to Craig Davidson, the Chief Operating Officer of Rick’s tour company, Rick Steves’ Europe. Craig explains how the company is taking action on climate change.

Thank you so much for listening. We’ll be back in January with the launch of Season Two!

Resources

This week, New York Times Travel Editor Amy Virshup joins the show to talk about managing the paper’s travel coverage during the pandemic. She shares how the NYT’s signature 52 Places List is going to look different in 2022, and describes what the future might hold for the paper’s much-loved 36 Hours series.

Amy also describes how she’s developed a new relationship with her readers during the pandemic, and explains the NYT policy of not working with travel writers who accept free trips. She wraps up by telling us what she’s looking for in pitches from journalists for next year.

This week on the podcast, Paige talks to Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir, the former director of Visit Iceland and the owner of Inga Hlín Consulting. Inga tells us about how tourism has grown and evolved in her home country; how Iceland tries to educate its visitors; and what she really thinks of the term “overtourism.” Inga also shares a wonderful piece of advice on how she personally strives to be a better traveler.

My guest this week is Jason Moore, host of the Zero to Travel podcast and an American living in Norway. Jason talks about what it means to throw yourself into another culture; he describes some of the challenges that he experienced in adjusting to life in his adopted country; and he shares how living abroad can reveal some really important things about ourselves.

Listen up toward the end of our conversation, when Jason offers his three pieces of advice for how you can be a better resident of your adopted home.

This week, we hear from a big player in the travel industry that’s serious about sustainability. Zina Bencheick is Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of Intrepid Travel, a global tour operator that took more than 460,000 people on trips in 2019. Intrepid is also the world’s largest travel company to have earned B Corp certification, a rigorous standard that measures companies’ social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.

Zina joins the show to talk about misconceptions around the term “sustainable travel,” the importance of vaccine equity, and what travel companies can do to reduce their carbon emissions. She also shares how tourism has opened up new job opportunities for women in her home country of Morocco.

This week, we’re talking to Sarika Bansal, the new editorial director of AFAR Media and the editor of a beautiful book of essays about ethical travel. Sarika talks to us about decolonizing the travel industry and the importance of genuine cultural exchange, and she describes her vision for AFAR and the new directions she wants to take the magazine.

Sarika also tells us about how she and her husband decided to leave the United States and make a big move overseas, and how they’re enjoying life in their new home.

Plus, next week’s guest joins the podcast briefly to teach Paige a few phrases of Arabic…

Before the pandemic, travel and tourism accounted for more than 13% of all jobs in New Zealand. (Globally, the figure was 1 in 10.) A lot of those people are still out of work.

In this episode, Paige speaks to Matt Stenton, the programme director of Go With Tourism, which is working to build New Zealand’s tourism workforce. Matt describes what life in New Zealand has been like during the pandemic, and he talks about the crisis facing the country’s tourism industry as it gets ready to welcome foreign tourists again. He also offers his prediction as to when vaccinated tourists from places like the United States and Europe will be able to get back into the country.

Plus, listen up for the latest in our language series, in which Paige gets a lesson in Hindi that will forever transform her yoga experience.

When Dominique Callimanopulos founded her sustainability-minded travel company in 2005, a lot of people in the industry didn’t understand what she was doing. Now, she says, other companies are catching up — but they all still have a long way to go.

In this episode, Dominique joins the podcast to talk about family travel, de-colonizing the travel industry, and how travelers can effectively give back to the communities they visit.

Plus, Paige learns a new Danish phrase that she thinks should be adopted worldwide…

Hawaii had a record-breaking number of visitors in 2019, and now the Islands are thinking about how they want to manage tourism in the years ahead.

John De Fries is the President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and he’s the first Native Hawaiian to hold the position. John joins the podcast to talk about what it was like growing up in Waikiki in the 1950s, what was so hard about the summer of 2021, and what he wants all visitors to the Islands to think about before they arrive.

Also, listen up for a special bonus segment in which Paige embarrasses herself while trying to learn a foreign phrase…

This week, Andrew Alexander King joins the podcast to talk about mountaineering, volunteering abroad and how he’s using his travels as a force for good in the world.

Andrew is an African-American explorer who started The Between Worlds Project as a way to provide support and media exposure to individuals, non-profits, and communities around the world that are battling sexism, racism, climate change, and economic barriers.

Andrew has climbed more than 50 mountains around the world, and he is aiming to be the first African-American to climb the highest mountain and highest volcano on each continent.

In this episode, you’ll hear Andrew talk about volunteering abroad, and how we can all go beyond “hashtag activism” and actually make a difference with our travels. And listen up toward the end of the interview, when Andrew tells us about a really important expedition that hasn’t gotten the attention — or the funding — that it deserves.

What do we really mean when we talk about “responsible travel” or “sustainable travel”? Justin Francis, the founder and chief executive of a company called Responsible Travel, dives into these terms and explains how travel can affect the environment and communities around the world — for better and for worse.

You’ll hear Justin’s thoughts on why it’s so important for travel companies to lead by example, and why he is optimistic about the future of travel. Plus, listen up for Justin’s advice on the three things that we all need to start paying attention to when we plan our trips.

Have you ever found yourself wondering how you can get past the stereotypes of a city you’re visiting and have a genuine experience of the place? 

Journalist, author and podcast host Lindsey Tramuta has been living in Paris since 2006, and she joins the podcast to help us appreciate the many sides of one of the world’s most romanticized cities. Listen up for her thoughts on why it’s so important to look past the “single story” of a place; her advice for great walking tours you can do on your next trip to the French capital; and what she really thinks of the hit Netflix show “Emily in Paris.”

We love to travel, and we want to make sure that our travels have a positive impact on the world. The Better Travel Podcast dives into fascinating and complex topics when it comes to travel -- and it’s all with the aim of helping you become a smarter, better traveler.  

Hosted by Paige McClanahan, a journalist and life-long traveler, The Better Travel Podcast will help you understand travel and tourism from the inside out.

Subscribe now to listen to our first season, which launches on September 30.