Ep. 39: How to travel responsibly, with Ashley Blake
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Today, I’m interviewing Ashley Blake, an Oregon native who is currently living in Copenhagen by way of Austin, Texas. Her journey from here to there, is pretty remarkable.
Ashley Blake is the founder of Traverse Journeys, which hosts small group trips across more than 25 countries, focused on sustainable, local, cross-cultural travel. Featured on Lonely Planet, HuffPost, Travel + Leisure, and more, Traverse Journeys is a shining example of responsible tourism. Today we’re going to dig into what Ashley’s built, why she built it, and what she’s learned along the way.
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I really enjoyed my conversation with Ashley Blake. My key takeaways were:
My key takeaways were:
1. When it comes to tourism, the impact is really multifaceted. I really loved what Ashley had to say about sustainable tourism—it’s not just what we do and don’t do in a destination, it’s also what we leave behind in that community, and what we take home with us. There’s this purpose piece—this traveling with meaning piece—that’s coming into focus for me now, in part because of the pandemic.
2. I loved the concept of slow travel. Getting deep into a place. How many of us can say we’ve gone deep into all of the countries we’ve visited? Off air, Ashley has been sharing za’atar recipes with me, a spice blend she perfected after spending so much time in the Middle East. That’s what we’re talking about here, trips that can truly immerse you into a culture, and people, and places.
3. Small group travel is coming back. Ashley shared her upcoming trips and retreats in Mexico, and many others on the horizon, across the globe, for fall 2021 and spring 2022. I’m excited. The future of travel is purpose driven, meaningful, and impactful both for the travelers and the communities we visit. Let’s all do our part, to make it so.
As always, keep sharing your stories.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Traverse Journeys website.
@traversejourneys on Instagram.
Traverse Journeys on Facebook
