The World Has Changed
Travel Can Change, Too
GLOBAL TRAVEL IS more possible now than in the past two years, but it remains difficult and fraught with uncertainty. And beyond the pandemic, there is a profound shift underway in the world’s understanding of climate change and the swiftness and degree to which we are already seeing its effects. Wildfires, floods, dangerous storms, rising water levels and temperatures: All remind us how fragile our world really is. The travel industry is responsible for 8 to 11 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, and at the Glasgow climate summit meeting last fall, the tourism industry made its first comtourists’ mitment to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 and reach “net zero” by 2050.
There is also the problem of overtourism, which has been held in check by the pandemic but threatens to reassert itself as the world again starts to move. The crowds that have made Venice all but impassable in the high season, or turned neighborhoods in Barcelona into Airbnb outposts, have thinned, but will we have learned anything from the forced shutdowns, or will the same patterns re-emerge?
Yet travel can also be part of the solution, and not only on climate. Travel supports depleted economies in places that depend on dollars, and exposes travelers to cultures and customs different from their own. That thought is the animating spirit behind this list, 30 Places for a Changed World.
In the past, The New York Times has published an annual destinations list that often focused on things like a hot restaurant scene, an exciting new museum or the opening of a fabulous beachfront resort. This list, instead, highlights places where change is happening — where endangered wild lands
are being preserved, threatened species are being protected, historical wrongs are being acknowledged, fragile communities are being bolstered — and where travelers can be part of the change.
This is not the spinach of travel lists: Diving with sharks in the Caribbean is magical, but it is even more so when you know you’re helping to save these creatures that are so critical to the oceans’ health. Touring Normandy’s moody coast on a bike is delightful, and the carbon saved is a bonus.
Some of the places on this list may not be open to travelers yet, and some are in areas hard hit by the virus that may not be safe. Our message is not to hop on the next plane, but to use this list as inspiration for your own more purposeful, more fulfilling travel.