The ideas behind meaningful travel
The brochure copy practically writes itself now. "Discover hidden corners of Porto through the eyes of locals." "Experience the real Oaxaca, untouched by mass tourism." "AI-matched to your unique travel personality, our curated experiences connect you to authentic culture."...
The algorithm doesn't just show you what to photograph; it's quietly deciding where you go, what you see, and whether your trip was real. --- There's a specific kind of exhaustion that comes from standing in a place you've wanted to visit for years, phone raised, trying to get...
"The hotel that erases every friction also erases every chance you have to discover what you're actually made of." *thesis: Comfort, relentlessly pursued, is the enemy of genuine discovery, and the travel industry has built an entire economy on selling you the thing that...
How the travel industry commodified 'authentic experiences' and what we lost in the process. A critique of the language that turned genuine connection into a product category.