It seems like travel has increasingly become harder to do. Visa and airline fees, travel alerts, and tension are on the rise and the outlook of them going back to normal levels looks dim. Since there is nothing a traveler can do about these obstacles then one can either stay home or go on and plan that trip. The planning and trip tools continue to be more useful as time goes on. The most useful tool now come in electronic form and are usually free for anyone to use on the internet. This includes guidebooks, navigational tools, and blogs written by travelers like yourself.
USD is still strong around the globe. There are some countries that are beginning to tie their currency to the Euro but USD is still holding it’s own. China, most of Southeast Asia, Argentina, Mexico to name a few, all have great exchange rates now. The euro and BP have also come down a bit but it’s still not that great. Tourism is also down in most popular destinations in Western Europe and the UK, so keep your eye out for promotional packages if that’s your desired destination.
The days are gone where you actually need to have a hard copy of a travel guide. Not only are they heavy but from the time they are written, edited and gone to press the information could be years old. The global economy has brought the internet to most places in the world. Travelers are more often then not traveling with a laptop or smaller less fragile smartphones. The travel guide is still useful for maps and very basic information but the amount of free online resources in the form of blogs, travel websites, hotel booking online tools and subscription services make them unnecessary and often the information is incorrect.
One of the most obvious benefits or shortfalls of the global economy is that the world is it’s not just modernizing the developed world but the developing world. For better or worse, countries in the developing world are importing modern technologies which helps the local economies grow and heightens the standard of living for it’s people. These developments can’t help but change landscape of the travel world. The faster and more efficient means of transportation have replaced the slower and usually man powered vehicles of yesteryear. The global economy has opened up the world to modern convenients and basically the developing world is doing just that…developing.
The good and the bad are unavoidable when a country opens up its doors to foreigners. The best a traveler can do is research the local culture, appreciate it, be sensitive to it and respect it for what it is. So start planning, grab your passport, laptop and reasonable sized backpack and go on that trip to your dream destination. It’s never been a better time and what’s stopping you.
farflungistan 