- Traveling to a country does not imply supporting its government.
- When we visit a destination where the leadership is diverse, we must remember that governments never 100% represent the diversity and voices of a country.
- We live in a world with many gray areas and few absolutes. There is no such thing as a perfect country, traveler, or destination.
You can read this story by clicking here.
Traveling to Cuba does not make me a communist. Visiting Spain does not imply support for the monarchy. Going to the United States does not make me a defender of imperialism, and being in Argentina does not make me a supporter of Milei.
When will political fanatics understand that traveling is an act of support for the people and not their government?
In an age of polarization, travel has become a political statement for some. At extremes of the political spectrum, any visit to a destination governed by an opposing ideology can be misinterpreted as an endorsement of their government when it is actually a human interaction between two cultures.
This cultural exchange enriches all parties and can contribute to the fall of extremism that keeps many people under oppressive regimes and others under governments that threaten the healthy coexistence and social advances we have achieved as a collective.
Learn more: The best travel insurance
There is even more to see:4 of the best itineraries in the Dominican Republic
When is the best time?buy plane tickets for summer and Christmas travel?
Supporting tourism-dependent communities
I have visited dozens of countries whose regime I do not support. In fact, I live in a subjugated colony (what a contradiction when I speak of freedom!).
When we visit a destination with diverse leaders, we must remember that governments never 100% represent the diversity and voices of a country. Some govern with a democratic majority, while others maintain power through trickery and juggling without the real support of their people. But behind them, there is a diverse people who, in most cases, are shouting and fighting for a more just society.
It is a form of demagogy and manipulation to claim that “your visit to a communist government or a right-wing dictatorship is an economic and political endorsement.”
When you travel, you inevitably support the government of the day, through taxes, purchases, visas or spending, whether it is far right or left. But you also support the communities that depend on tourism and that, in many cases, constitute their only means of subsistence and their economic engine to continue to educate themselves and aspire to change. This cultural exchange is often the hope that reminds them that a better world is possible and that pushes them to fight against injustice. We all learn from this exchange. That is what is really important.
Where to go in 2024:Destinations that could see their airfares drop this year
I do not support genocide by one state against another or terrorist actions by extremist groups. I do not support governments that, in the name of “economic prosperity,” undermine democracy and free speech. I do not support the repression of diversity and equity. I do not support the imposition of any religion by the state, which should serve everyone, regardless of our beliefs. I do not support the absence of social policies that guarantee access to resources, even for the most disadvantaged. But I also do not support the penalization of success. None of these positions are contradictory and can be summed up in a single statement: I do not support extremes. I travel to fight them.
We live in a world with a lot of gray and few absolutes. There is no such thing as a perfect country, traveler, or destination. But everywhere there are people fighting for a better world, and those are the people I seek to reach when I travel and want to be a part of. That is the message I try to convey in every interaction I have: a better world is possible. If traveling doesn’t help us get there, what is the point of traveling?
Wilson “Wil” Santiago Burgos is the founder of Mochileando.com, one of the largest travel platforms in Puerto Rico and the Latin American market in the United States.
