What is the purpose of travel writing?
Is it to help readers fall in love with the world? To help them celebrate and understand different cultures and foreign environments? Or is it to help readers plan their own trips and avoid costly mistakes? Or mentally take them somewhere they may never see themselves?
Most would argue it’s “all of the above.” Whatever the reason, the following travel platitudes are both unhelpful and downright dumb.
Something for Everyone
This is a lazy writer’s way of saying there’s “a lot to do here.” But it’s completely disingenuous. New York, for example, offers little for someone that prefers open spaces and suffers from agoraphobia. Los Alamos, on the other hand, provides few opportunities for artists, bohemians, country-cooking foodies. The next time your read “something for everyone,” what you’re really reading is “I can’t think of anything better to say.”
Must-See
Here’s some free advice for you: Nothing in this world is a “must-see.” Not a popular TV-show. Not an award-winning movie. And certainly not a single travel attraction. While traveling, you should see and do what appeals to you—not what someone else says you must. When someone calls something a “must-see,” what they’re really doing is seeking validation for the things they really like or think makes them look cool for liking. See what you want to while adventuring, even a “must-see” if it truly appeals to you.
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