As a full-time traveler, I often get asked, “So, where to next on your travel bucket list?” I frequently encounter people proudly stating they’ve visited “50 countries and counting,” as if travel were merely a collection game.
Truth is, there are many places I’d love to experience, each for its own unique reasons. But I’ve come to realize that treating host countries, cultural experiences, and communities like items on a grocery list to cross off perpetuates harmful colonial attitudes.
This mindset stems from feeling that time is fleeting and the world is vast—we must see it all. But what happens when we hop from location to location without truly experiencing a place? Without reflecting and connecting deeply with our experiences? Without allowing time for slower, more meaningful travel? We end up “checking off” destinations at the expense of genuine connection and sometimes at the detriment of local communities and environments. (Don’t get me started on mass tourism to fragile ecosystems like Antarctica.)
Now, I’m not saying don’t have places you have a desire to travel, and I understand not everyone has the luxury of unlimited vacation time/PTO, but here are some ways to reframe the ‘checklist’ mentality.
3 Key Takeaways:
- 1) Treating destinations as items to check off a list reduces cultures to consumable experiences and perpetuates colonial attitudes
- 2) Meaningful travel requires cultural humility, respect for community boundaries, and supporting local initiatives on their own terms
- 3) Travel depth matters more than breadth—genuine connections create more rewarding experiences than counting countries visited
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How Travel Checklists Perpetuate Colonial Thinking
When approaching destinations with a “checklist” mentality, we unconsciously perpetuate colonial dynamics by reducing vibrant communities to consumable experiences. This mindset treats cultures as commodities rather than living traditions, encourages taking without meaningful exchange, and often ignores whether communities want to share certain spaces or practices with tourists. A more ethical approach requires cultural humility, respect for local boundaries, and prioritizing depth of connection over quantity of places visited.
Ignoring community agency: Preset “must-do” lists rarely consider whether local communities want to share certain experiences or sacred spaces with tourists.
Reducing cultures to consumable experiences: When we treat local traditions, ceremonies, and ways of life as items to be checked off a list, we diminish their deep cultural significance and meaning.
Promoting extractive tourism: The checklist mentality encourages taking from destinations (photos, experiences, stories) without meaningful contribution or exchange.
Reinforcing power imbalances: Traditional tourism marketing often presents host countries through a Western lens, prioritizing visitor convenience over community needs and perspectives.
a better Approach to travel
Instead, we should approach our journeys with:
- Cultural humility and openness to learn, rather than a sense of entitlement
- Respect for community boundaries and wishes
- Willingness to support local initiatives on their own terms
- Understanding that meaningful travel experiences emerge from genuine connection, not completing a preset list
Remember: Destinations are living communities, not theme parks.
My personal experience in turkiye
Reflecting on my travels in Turkiye, I’ve come to realize something important about “counting countries.” While many tourists proudly track their passport stamps, what does it really mean to visit a place if you’re not truly experiencing it?
It’s been disheartening to hear from locals across Turkiye—in Istanbul, Izmir, and Cappadocia—how many travelers come simply to tick boxes: ride the balloon, snap the Instagram photo, and leave. The more meaningful connections—understanding cultural nuances, learning about traditions, engaging with communities—get overlooked in the rush to claim “I’ve been there.”
We also fell into the ‘must-see sights’ trap—the hot air balloons in the stunning backdrop and rock formations of Cappadocia. When the weather wasn’t suitable for the balloons to take flight, instead of disappointment, we found something better. We connected with a local who showed us more, connected us deeper to the land, the people, and the history, with an even more special sunset than the balloons could ever provide.
If you’re looking for a more local, immersive experience, I recommend Locally Istanbul.
A New Travel Philosophy
Travel isn’t about collecting destinations like trophies. It’s about exchange—giving your genuine curiosity, respect, and presence in return for the incredible privilege of experiencing someone else’s home. It’s about leaving a place understanding it better than when you arrived.
So here’s my travel philosophy: connect with the people, places, and land you have the opportunity to experience.
Our role as travelers and sustainable tourism professionals is to engage respectfully, learn, and support, not to consume.
As one writer on decolonization states: “Rather, decolonization is a process and should be a commitment to becoming aware of the power issues that came from the colonization of Indigenous peoples and then challenging those colonial structures.“
Counting countries says nothing about how deeply you’ve traveled. It becomes about proudly showing off, wearing your passport stamps as a badge of honor, or comparing your travel resume with others. But what matters is depth, not breadth—meaningful connections, not surface-level experiences.
There’s no “better way to travel,” but there is a more responsible, respectful, and ultimately more rewarding approach that benefits both travelers and the communities we visit.
Let’s Connect
- Are you looking to elevate your travel or tourism brand? Or looking to get personalized travel planning assistance that helps you connect with host countries or communities? I’d love to help you on your journey and create greater awareness of responsible travel!
- 📧 Email: Let’s chat about your travel goals – drop me a line
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