The collapse of a Brazilian travel agency and how we travel wrongly
We need more travel education for those who offer tourism and those who consume it
The Brazilian travel agency 123 Milhas suspended the packages and tickets from its promotional line last week, with departures scheduled from September to December 2023.
For readers who are not Brazilian, the company offers the purchase of tickets, accommodations, and other services and products, such as packages, insurance, and car rentals, at significantly lower prices than the market average by being able to find promotional prices and dates that are outside of peak seasons.
The company communicated that the decision was made due to “persistent adverse economic and market factors, including high demand pressure for flights, which keeps fares high even in the low season, and high-interest rates”.
In April, Hurb, another Brazilian travel agency, went through the same process of canceling or indefinitely postponing customers'trips from promotional lines.
In both cases, the subsequent commotion on social media, with many affected customers, has made me reflect on a concept I haven't directly addressed in this newsletter yet: slow travel.
Brazilians don't travel with quality. There's a lack of educational and financial literacy in the country, there's also a lack of travel education for those who offer tourism and those who consume it.
We rarely travel due to a lack of funds or a busy schedule. This results in almost everyone traveling with crowded airports or congested roads during the same holidays. We often visit the same destinations, even though there's so much of Brazil to explore. Once at the destination, we don't explore it properly. We do cliché tours, dine at not-so-good restaurants, need guides to orient us, and try to fit too much into a few days.
A friend recently realized she had a great experience in Buenos Aires by taking things slowly. Previously, she was always trying to fit a thousand activities into a single day. She ended up exhausted and frustrated because many plans didn't work out.
Another friend is on vacation in the Brazilian Northeast, going through many difficulties, and she realized that she might not actually enjoy traveling that much. In truth, I think she just chose the wrong style for herself.
I acknowledge a significant financial component in purchasing these 123 Milhas packages. It allows a portion of the lower-income population to travel, which is praiseworthy.
At the same time, though, many people are always hunting for "the perfect deal." And that bothers me. You don't know when you'll travel or where you'll stay, but you've already secured the best promotional price for a five-day trip to Cancun.
Many people travel because it'll look good on Instagram. A symptom of this is people's need to visit airport VIP lounges to post photos on social media with captions like "Feeling fancy." At the next social gathering, these individuals will have superficial conversations about the best VIP lounges they know.
I've been traveling by plane frequently since 2015, and even more so since 2022, and going to a VIP lounge doesn't even cross my mind (I supposedly have a card that allows me). I'm not traveling to explore an airport lounge. The non-VIP section has a restroom, food, and seating. I don't need more than that.
Therefore, today's newsletter reflects on how to travel better. My nomadic lifestyle allows me to visit more places than the average Brazilian, and even more than a well-traveled Brazilian. From my privileged perspective, I assure you that traveling at a slower pace is much better.
If we traveled more and better, we wouldn't need this obsession with the best prices, which can ultimately be a big disappointment. After all, it's possible to find reasonable prices by engaging in a more personalized form of tourism.
No Direction Home has some articles that provide tips in this approach.
Hotel Solitude/Breakfast with Smartphones/Who is this Remote Worker
How Rita Lee's death made me realize that I can live multiple lives in just one
How I travel with my mother as a digital nomad, something I will be proud of in the future
The life of a digital nomad allows you to achieve small dreams, which is amazing
Enjoying walking is absolutely essential for a digital nomad
This has everything to do with the conversation we had!
And I'm so concerned about this need to always pay less, always win, that I decided to promote a class for the women who accompany me precisely on how to plan a trip!
From the time needed to make the most of it, knowing what YOUR type of trip is and, above all, how not to fall into those "cheap travel" traps.
We need to learn to travel better (and thus get more value for our money).