When we travel, it’s easy to pretend that we get on an airplane, get off on a different planet and whatever we do on that other planet has no impact on the planet we live on. What happens on vacation stays on vacation, amiright?!

Several years ago I travelled around the world by land sea. One thing that really made an impression on me was the teeny-tiny size of our planet. It’s actually a totally manageable ball of rock and water sprinkled with billions of people. We’re much closer to each other than we realize and our actions have much more of an impact on other living on the planet than we recognize. Travel can be a powerful tool and a dangerous weapon.

When I travel, I ask myself what I want to give to the destination and the people living there. Each interaction I have, wherever I am, impacts that place, the health of the people who live there, and my health. I may have nothing to give in a location than money and the words I say, but those can have a profound impact on a place.

How we choose to spend money when we travel can transform the world. If you visit a place and spend your money on sex, booze, drugs, and food from back home, you’re going to incentivize a very different experience than if you spend your money on local food, local culture, and you’re aware of how the money you spend and the interactions you have will either support or damage local economies and the environment.

So on your next trip, what are you going to give to the place you’re traveling to that’s going to benefit that place?

– Mark

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