The Good Traveller: Why do we travel?

What makes us want to go beyond the places that we know? Explorers, conquerors, pilgrims and tourists are united in one thing - the travel bug.

One reason would be the transformative nature of travel; which is a way of saying that travel changes stuff. It changes the traveller firstly, (or rather it has the potential too). It can broaden perspectives, encourage new relationships and inspire people to envision other ways of doing things.

As influential English writer G.K.Chesterton noted: ‘The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land.” The traveller often returns changed and looking to change.

However the change doesn’t stop there. The communities visited can often undergo massive changes if enough people visit. Travel can stimulate the growth of whole new industries, affect eco-systems and alter existing cultural dynamics.

Such changes can be positive but all too often they are exploitative. New markets crush traditional economies, an eco-system starts to collapse under the weight of visitors and the incoming revenue benefits a select minority.

It is because travel can either be empowering or oppressive (if not a complex intertwinement of both) that Caritas has come up with an Ethical Pilgrim’s Guide.

While this has been written with the young people coming to World Youth Day in mind, it can equally be used by all travellers who want to travel in a way that is ecologically and culturally sensitive.

Not only that, the guide is filled with tips on how to bring the changes you make on the journey back into your everyday life, as what the world really needs is Ethical People, not just Ethical Pilgrims.