Nearly five billion people are expected to fly in 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association, a number that would surpass all previous records. And while first-class travel can provide a refuge from those crowds, it also can interfere with the unexpected encounters that can make travel so rewarding.
“Tourism has become the sort of activity where you don’t touch the reality of the people living in that place,” said Laura Arciniegas, a sociologist in Barcelona, Spain.
That is why Eileen Grasso and her family, of Greenwich, Conn., try to balance their high-end stays with side trips off the beaten path — a way to get out of the “bubble,” as she described it.
Roughing it isn’t required. And even travelers limited by language or mobility can emerge from the luxury cocoon with just a bit of effort.
Skip the Restaurant
A meal is a window into a way of life according to Dr. Arciniegas, who works for the company Eatwith, which pairs travelers with locals for meals.
A family from Melbourne, Australia — Tracy Kuiper and Darren Stasinowsky and their two children — recently paid 437 Australian dollars ($285) to Eatwith for a lunch in Paris with Claudine Ouhioun, a retired teacher. “It’s lovely having someone who doesn’t know you invite you into their home,” Ms. Kuiper said.
Ms. Ouhioun served raclette, a gooey cheese dish that she said was a favorite with her grandchildren. And, after lunch, she led the family on a stroll through her neighborhood of Montmartre, showing them sights such as a neighborhood garden that they might otherwise have missed.
The French “gastronomic” meal, which brings people together to enjoy good food and drink, is on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list — and Ms. Ouhioun said that, for a few hours at least, her guests “live the Parisian way of life, our art de vivre.”
In addition to Eatwith, Withlocals and Airbnb Experiences also link travelers with locals who want to share a meal, or connect through a food-centric outing.
Find a Guide
When Arihant Patni arrives somewhere new, he books a local guide to join him on a run that will also show him the sites.
“Running is a passion with a lot of people,” said Mr. Patni, a businessman from Mumbai, India, who travels frequently. A memorable excursion, he said, was a 16-kilometer (10-mile) circuit through the mountains outside Marrakesh, Morocco, that he booked with Wild Goose Adventure. The tour cost 900 Moroccan dirham ($88) and included a stop at his guide’s home.
“They had their own cattle, their own chickens and they grew their own vegetables,” he said. “It was my most unique experience.”
It’s easy to connect with fellow runners — or bird watchers or other people with a common interest — before a trip, with a little research at sites such as gorunningtours.com, athlinks.com, birdingpal.org or on Facebook.
Take Things to Leave
Pamela Dresser, a film and events producer who lives in Santa Monica, Calif., pays careful attention to the nonessential items she packs, taking only those she does not worry about losing. This not only eliminates worry about losing things, it also makes it easier for her to share items with people she meets along the way.
During a three-week visit to the Pardamat Conservation Area in Kenya recently, she got to know Doreen Sekento Kumum, a safari guide who lives in the small village of Narok, in the Rift Valley. When Ms. Kumum admired Ms. Dresser’s hiking boots and noted how hard it was to get real shoes in the remote area, rather than plastic shower shoes or sandals made from old tires, the two women made a swap.
Ms. Dresser’s hiking boots are now on the guide’s feet and Ms. Dresser is wearing a Masai bead necklace that Ms. Kumum made, and both women remain in touch.
Move Like a Local
Les Creery and Caylen Houghton of Banff, Canada, have found that using bikes usually helps them meet locals.
“We would use Google Maps and we’d get all turned around and we’d have to talk to people,” Ms. Houghton said. “It was hilarious, people would fight over which way we were supposed to go.”
In 2019, on the last day of a trip through Alsace, along the French-German border, they arrived at the ferry and found it was not operating.
“We ran into some locals who said, ‘Come with us.’ They knew of a dam across the river,” Mr. Creery said. “So we went past big ‘Verboten’ signs, carrying our bikes over barbed wire, but what are you going to do? We got where we needed to go.”
New and expanding bike trails and reserved bike lanes on city streets in many parts of Europe, Australia, Japan and elsewhere are encouraging tourists to pedal around. And whether by biking, walking or running, getting out of a vehicle always gives the better view, according to Ms. Dresser, the film producer, who is a frequent traveler for work and for pleasure. “You’re going to see a lot more and you’re in contact with people,” she said. “You get the feel for the place so much more.”
Attend Religious Services
Cultural values are readily on display in faith communities, and travelers who are respectfully curious, dress modestly and forego photography are often welcomed to visit. Gary Bartelings, a Dutch travel specialist who curates luxury tours, was part of a group of travel professionals invited by Omani tourism officials to tour the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat. During their visit, they met some Omani women who talked about the perception of Islam outside the Muslim world. Mr. Bartelings said he found the encounter extremely powerful.
One of us [Christine] had a similar experience in 2006 in the Syrian capital of Damascus: While packing for a month of Arabic lessons, I included a hymnal from my home church as a gift to the Christian Orthodox congregation with whom I planned to worship. After presenting it to the organist, a congregant invited me home to lunch. It turned into a good opportunity to practice my Arabic and to learn about how Christians live in a largely Muslim country.
A spiritual leader, religious school or seminary can help find a house of worship, or ask someone you’ve met if you can attend a service with them. The BBC prepared a list of general rules of etiquette for a number of different religions.
Choose the Time and Place
A popular destination in the height of tourist season is not the place to find artisans eager for a leisurely chat about their craft. A cheese maker in a small village, however, might be thrilled to show visitors around, as Greg Witt of the Utah-based tour company Alpenwild, said he learned from leading European tours for nearly 40 years. He has taken hikers to the high meadows of the Alps where farmers graze their cows in summer.
“That’s kind of the Swiss tradition,” he said. His clients have been invited to milk cows and make cheese and chocolate, all of which, Mr. Witt said, are classic local experiences.
Consider traveling off season, when there are fewer crowds, but no matter when you’re traveling, investigate what local festivals, sporting events and other activities might be going on — and worth a visit — at your destination.
Host a Party
How about hosting a party, even when you don’t know anyone?
We are sisters, and 20 years ago our families had rented a country villa in Tuscany with a pizza oven and a swimming pool ringed by olive and lemon trees. It was an ideal party venue. (Some rental companies forbid parties, but the one that owned this villa did not.)
Andrea and her husband, Hugo, found our first guests en route to Italy, inviting the 20 members of the Icelandic Women’s Choir who were traveling on their flight. She called a Florence art dealer she had purchased from, and he arrived with one of his artists. A nearby farmer roasted a pig, and the village pizza maker brought his family and cooked the pies. The next-door neighbors carved the pig and joined us for dinner. The choir sang while the artist made impromptu sketches, one of which now hangs in Christine’s home.
We had all the elements required for a good time, including strangers willing to become friends.
Visit a Charity
The Grasso family of Connecticut has visited some of the children in India, Rwanda, Cambodia and the Philippines that they sponsor through World Vision, a Christian charity that directs some of the child’s monthly stipend to local community projects.
Ms. Grasso remembers clearly one visit that required a five-hour drive from the Rwandan capital of Kigali and then a 20-minute walk to the mud-brick home of the child and his family.
She and James, the oldest of her three sons, who then was 15, were invited to join in the traditional Rwandan dance called intore. On other visits to the country, the Grassos worshiped in the local church, a structure with a thatched roof and dirt floor that had far more people than seats and lots of music.
Ms. Grasso calls these journeys a ministry of presence, showing members of these communities that foreigners like her family not only want to help, they want to know them.
“Everybody swaying and shouting and singing,” she said. “We did our best to get down and groove with them.”
Charitable tourism experiences should be researched carefully; a good place to start is International Forum for Volunteering in Development which provides guidance to make sure good intentions don’t unintentionally cause harm.
Expand Your Comfort Zone
At Amboseli National Park in Kenya, Eric Ole Kalama, the director of Elephant Garden Camp, taps his own social circles so guests can have meaningful experiences. He arranged for a particularly curious visitor to spend the day with Masai herdsmen and their cows.
“He wanted to know how the cows survive in the bush with lions,” Mr. Kalama said. “He wanted to go out with the herders the whole day from the water holes to the grazing area.”
Not every traveler wants to be a cowherd for a day. But Dr. Arciniegas of Eatwith said there are many ways and many reasons for visitors to pass over the made-for-tourists experiences to find the world “of the other person.”
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