Chances are that if you read this newsletter, you probably already know a thing or two about deep travel, even if you haven’t yet heard of the term. Deep travel is a mindset that prioritizes depth, cultural engagement, and meaningful connection with destinations and local communities. It’s an personal approach to travel that focuses on enriching experiences over simply checking off destinations on a list.
I sat down with Richard Lindberg of One Planet Journey to talk about his team’s mission of promoting Deep Travel and why we should adopt this mindset on our next journey.
Lindberg: “Deep travel happens when people stop obsessing about where they’re going to go and focus more on the why. It’s about having a deeper purpose for your trip which can linked to any set of special interests that you have personally. So Deep travel is also a very personal way of traveling.
Deep travel is also not only about making things better for you, but also about making things better for local communities and the destination you visit. That’s what sets it apart from traditional travel.”
Lindberg: “Everybody that’s following the news, especially around the summers, see these headlines with the word “over tourism” in them. A recent statistic I saw showed that about 80% of travelers end up in 10% of the destinations, so you have a lot of pressure on very popular places, which can become extractive.
The tourism industry puts pressure on local infrastructures used by both travelers and locals. This can be everything from water to buses and public transport and more. You also have economic leakage, which is another big issue, where a lot of the money that’s spent by travelers in a specific place doesn’t stay there. At at the moment there’s too little money staying locally. This is not the same in every destination, but on a general basis. Then there are regional imbalances as well, which is something that people are trying to address through deep travel.
Deep travelers, they’re more prone to spend locally. They’re more conscious about where they put their money because they have an interest in getting to know the place better. Deep travelers are good because they’re curious and they want to see new places. An example of this is the trend of rural travel becoming more and more popular.”
Lindberg: “One good example of deep travels is low season travel. You know, balancing traveler numbers across seasons, which is also good for revenue.
Another example of deep traveling is exploring deeper when they get to a place so culturally maybe participate in some form, you know, not just being an observer. They like to be more active, connect with locals, maybe make friends, you know, again, different from person to person, how deep they want it to be. But these are some of the general characteristics of what it can be.
When you form these deep connections, that also means you’re more prone to come again, perhaps multiple times. So there’s a sense of connection and loyalty in that sense, which also make it interesting for the business side.”
Lindberg: “Deep travel is not focused on sustainable travel. We don’t use that word that much. But deep travel is inherently more sustainable than the average mass tourism because travelers visit during different seasons, visit other places, not going to the same hotspots all the time, conscious of where they spend their money and things like that.”
Lindberg offered a list of practical ways travelers can adopt a deep travel mindset:
Be intentional. Before you put yourself on whatever transport you choose, be intentional about your trip and its purpose. Ask yourself, what is it you want out of the trip? Are you there to pursue a specific interest? Do you have a plan? I’m all for serendipitous encounters, but I do think your travel experience will be better if you plan the head. Read up on the place, before, during, after to actually improve your travel experience.
Be Reflective. The next point is to be reflective once you’re there, and especially when you’re done with your travels. You can do journal or take pictures, whatever suits you. This kind of reflection will also make the next trip better. That’s also part of the intentionality process because a lot of this is about personal development.
Be curious. When you’re there, try to listen more than you speak to get to know the place and the people. Connect with people can be a bit hard of course, depending on the place or how much time you have. But again there with some pre planning, you know, if you’re there for example, to pursue special interest, it might be easier to get into some certain groups, especially if you’re staying longer.
Ask locals. Of course, that’s a great tip to get to know when, perhaps eat at the places that are definitely not in the guidebook. And also reduce your chances of being going into one of these tourist traps, whether it’s food or stuff like that. So depending on if it’s your first or, you know, multiple visits, try to be inquisitive beyond the landmarks that everybody should see.
Meet people based on your interests. Look up groups or networks where people with the same interest as you meet and go there. This will make your travels a much, much deeper experience. Plus you might make some friends and then have more reasons to come back.
Skip the curated ‘Bucket List’. If you look at the the bucket list phenomenon on social media, it’s all the same. Bucket lists should be personal. Choose places that generally interest you personally and you’ll have a better experience than just following somebody else’s checklist or bucket list.”
Lindberg: “Deep travel will not be a replacement for mass tourism simply because it will never reach the scale of mass tourism. But is a necessary step towards a more intentional travel industry. Deep travel is not about lecturing. It’s not putting stuff in your head that you’re not necessarily comfortable with. It’s very personal. And I think based on the interest we’ve seen, we didn’t invent the term.
“It’s also a better form of travel where there are winners on all sides. It also attracts the kind of traveler that’s interested in exploring a place deeper culturally and maybe participate in some form. It appeals to the type of traveler that’s interested in more not just being an observer.”
Whether you adopt the term or not, deep travel is a mindset that forces us to be more deliberate about our travels.
If you are interested in learning more about One Planet Journey and their work with deep travel, check out their website or subscribe to their deep travel newsletter.
Do you engage in deep travel? How has deep travel impacted your experience abroad? Let me know in the comments!
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