---
title: "Reply to: the commodification of travel"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2026/05/reply-to-the-commodification-of-travel/
last_updated: 2026-05-25
---


Herman Martinus:

> I've noticed that travel has become, of late, an act of collecting places.
> I've literally heard people referring to visiting a place as doing that place,
> as in "Have you done Japan?", assuming that one can do an entire country, and
> once that country is done it remains as such. As if a place is a product to be
> consumed and checked off the list. Why bother returning to a place if you've
> already done it?

This is the byproduct of social media.

> Like many things, I blame social media. It's changed travel from an
> exploration to social status signalling.

Bragging.

> That isn't to say taking photos is bad. They're a great way to share an
> experience with others and save a memory of a time and place—but I think the
> threshold of what is enough has been crossed in the age of Instagram where
> images and video are socially valuable. Now beautiful places are commodified.
> And I don't know if we'll ever go back.

Exactly.

I've been out of Instagram for 6+ months by now. Recently I had the opportunity
to explore a major big city in another country. For the first time in a long
time, I had *zero* urge to take a myriad of photos. I had very little desire to
do the popular touristic attractions. I explored the city at my own pace. It was
    peaceful. There was no social pressure of any kind. Why hasn't this been the
    default?