Where did you go in 2023?
Looking ahead to 2024!
Hello readers!
It has almost been a year since I started this newsletter. I am so happy each time I write this to know that so many of you are opening it, reading it, and clicking links. Thank you for being here! I am going to make the last one of the year, going out some time on the 30th or 31st, a year-end review and some of my travel plans for 2024. I am also hoping to bring more value to you in 2024 so I have some questions for you.
Where do you want to or plan to go in 2024?
Was there anything surprising you read or learned about from my newsletter this year?
What would you like to read more about? Destinations? Broader tourism issues? Obscure destinations? Weird travel trends? Tell me!
Links
United Airlines recently announced plans to release a new search filter on its website meant to make flying more equitable for travellers with mobility vehicles. This is excellent news, moving about the world or simply your home country should be easily accessible to all.
“By offering customers an easy way to know if their personal wheelchair fits on a particular airplane, we can give them the peace of mind they deserve when they fly with us,” United executive vice president and chief customer officer Linda Jojo said in a statement. “Plus, collecting this information ahead of time ensures our team can handle these special items with proper care and attention.”
The rest of the airlines will hopefully follow suit.
A fun little guide to gift-giving around the world.
The most searched travel destinations of the year according to Google. This list is kind of surprising to me.
Have you been to Charleston, South Carolina? I honestly can’t remember if I’ve been. I think that I visited when I was young. A renaissance of Gullah cuisine and culture is happening there now. I LOVE FRIED OKRA. Don’t question me, just try it.
It seems like I have shared this podcast episode before, but even if I have, it is worth sharing again. Bonus, for those of you who don’t like to listen, there is a transcript. It’s about a Londoner who moves to a remote Scottish island.
I can’t write a better description “Lewis Hamilton on Sitting (very) Still with Mountain Gorillas”.
Should you visit museums with complicated histories?
I wasn’t going to include an article this time but I just saw this on Friday at 2 pm and decided to add it. That article from Afar jumped out at me because I have been to the Louvre, The British Museum, The Vatican, museums in Italy, etc. All places that have some or a lot of stolen items.
I don’t have the authority to speak to one side or the other when it comes to a country’s government formally requesting the Louvre or The British Museum return items. However, I will say that I can see both points of view. Of course, the country of origin should have the items, they should have had them all along! However, when a museum has had them for decades or they have been in the country for over one hundred years, I can also see why they don’t want to give them up. But I am not saying the museum is right.
The writer of this article lists some thoughtful ways to engage and explore before actually visiting museums. She suggests researching the stories that are told in the museum (whose stories, and from what viewpoint), investigating how the museum is funded, looking at the language that is used to describe artifacts, and figuring out how the museum procured the artifacts it possesses.
What are your thoughts about museums and stolen items? In some way, having a variety of items within one museum that is not from just one destination or culture is a way for locals and tourists to learn about many cultures. Would schoolchildren be as enthralled with or interested in Ancient Egypt or Greece if they never saw the artifacts in person? Things like that can inspire children and adults to learn and explore more on their own. Museums with variety are a good thing, but stealing precious and religious relics is not.
2024 Calendar, if you’re interested to see what I am tentatively planning
The schedule first six months I am almost certain will stay exactly as is. The final six months of the year could change.
January - Dark tourism, what is it, examples, reasons for travel to these sites, why people visit them
February - Seasonality and climate change and how it is already affecting and will continue to affect winter tourism demands.
March - Adventure Tourism Month, challenges in adventure tourism, environmental challenges, how the adventure tourism industry is one of the main supporters/protectors of and can be detrimental to the environment.
April - Los Angeles! Why I like this city and how I am going to convince you to visit or give it a chance. Reader questions and favourite destinations. Yes, I want your feedback before this month so I can write about your favourites. There will be a short survey going out after the New Year.
May - Tourism in post-communist countries, how tourism was different pre- and post-occupation.
June - Inclusive travel part 2 - tourism accommodations for all.
July - Antarctic tourism - challenges and changes in the last few decades on the 7th continent.
August - Active travel - what is it, where can you go, what does it entail?
September - Inca Trail Trek and Peru
October - Airbnb and other tourism disruptors
November - Spiritual tourism, pilgrimages, and retreats
December - Holiday travel traditions, Christmas markets, yearly wrap-up
Consuming
I’ve been working on a new sweater in the evenings and watching all of the Christmas movies like Home Alone 1 and 2, The Santa Clause movies and now the series The Santa Clauses that is on Disney+. It is pretty entertaining that it was turned into a series and now the Clauses have teenage kids.
I’m waiting for Christmas Vacation and A Muppet Christmas Carol and Die Hare, my top three I also watched two from Netflix, The Happiest Season (sweet, dealt with family issues of looking perfect on the outside to please the parents, I liked it) and Office Christmas Party (started off promising, quickly went off the rails, too long, earned its rating). You can look those up based on your interest. :)
I finished listening to Between the World and Me and I really enjoyed it. I can’t really even describe it other than it is written as a letter from the author Ta-Nehisi Coates to his teenage son.
I am still reading The Three-Body Problem, which is a science fiction story by a Chinese author. I am only 100 pages in and can’t tell you much more. The library took it back right when I was starting to enjoy it on my Kindle and thus I bought it. I am waiting until I finish Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir by Werner Herzog. I am flying through that when I have time to read. The man has lived a life! He’s a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director who has had adventures all over the world.
If you made it this far, here’s a recent sunrise from my balcony, incredible, right?
Happy Holidays!
Sonya
Excitedly looking forward to a family trip to Zermatt and Zurich, Switzerland. But also NOT excitedly looking forward to the long flights with a toddler. I'd love to know if there are any articles out there to help parents overcome their fear of judgement as they travel with their toddler, or tips on how to pack/what to pack to make the journey a little more comfortable, if that's even possible. Thanks Sonya.
Commenting from a two-week housesit in Asheville, NC! This a great way to travel frugally, as it involves providing pet care in exchange for a free place to stay. Consider covering it in 2024!