When we hit pause on Adventure.com last March, we had no idea what the remainder of 2020 had in store for us. And we certainly had no idea we’d have to wait almost a year before we could share the news that, against all odds: we’re back.
You might be asking yourself: “What the hell is a travel publication going to talk about at a time when the vast majority of people around the world can’t travel?!”
To which we’d reply: The same things we’ve always talked about—people, places and experiences—but with more clarity and purpose than ever before.
Our aim as a publication has always been to be a home for people who are curious about the world and everything in it: Culture, food, drink, history, music, tradition, people, beliefs, ideas and everything in-between. That curiosity isn’t quelled by pandemics, border closures or travel bans.
If anything, the events of 2020—from the bushfires to the pandemic to the US presidency to the potency of the Black Lives Matter movement—has intensified our curiosity, and our desire to tell stories that explore new perspectives and possibilities.
Much has been written about the need for us to ‘rebuild travel’ in the post-pandemic world. And while Adventure.com has always sought to champion responsible and ethical travel, we must now reassess everything we think about travel and tourism—from the ground up.
The uncomfortable truth is that mainstream commercial travel, before the pandemic, was unsustainable (a landmark 2019 report claimed that transport-related emissions from tourism were expected to account for 5.3% of all man-made emissions by 2030).
As well as being an environmental calamity, travel and tourism also wrought havoc on many communities and countries around the world. It did a lot of good, too, but that good was often outweighed by the footprint it left behind. So we need to keep finding and celebrating and exploring alternative ways of traveling, and to keep holding the industry—and ourselves—to account.
“We have an opportunity, now, to get this right; to have fun-filled, joyful and challenging travel experiences that don’t come at the expense of the environment or the communities we visit along the way. We believe in the power of travel to be a tangible force for good in the world.”
We have an opportunity, now, to get this right; to have fun-filled, joyful and challenging travel experiences that don’t come at the expense of the environment or the communities we visit along the way.
We believe in the power of travel to be a tangible force for good in the world—to connect, to bridge divides, and to set an example for other industries to follow.
Moving forward, Adventure.com will be focusing on producing more award-winning journalism that we believe can help shape the future of travel for the better. And we will listen to and share as many voices, innovators and experts, from as many different cultures, perspectives and backgrounds as possible.
Of course, none of this means we’ll forget about the sheer joy of travel—the friendships made, however brief; shared laughter after a lost-in-translation moment; the sense of connection with people you wouldn’t have otherwise met; and the rush of going beyond your comfort zone. Not to mention the ice-cold beers, the drool-worthy food, and that liberating feeling of being completely and utterly immersed in a new place. We’re still all about that.
Truthfully, we don’t yet know what the future—much less the future of travel—has in store for us. But we’re committed to exploring it, and to sharing what we find with you.
We’re not just interested in looking at better or more meaningful ways of traveling, but at better and more meaningful ways of living our lives. We’ll be continuing to grow, evolve and adapt as a publication and a platform this year. And we look forward to having you along for the journey.
If ever you’d like to get in touch with your ideas about where travel can go from here, or if you have tips, leads or insights on stories you’d like us to cover, please drop us a line at hello@adventure.com
Now, who’s for a story?
Oliver Pelling, Meera Dattani and Nicola Bailey
Adventure.com
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Photo credit: Ajay Shah
The Editors
Hailing from all across the globe, Adventure.com's team of editors are on the pulse of adventure news and travel trends, bringing you the latest developments and strange, interesting and peculiar happenings from around the world.
