“How can you launch a travel company with the name Don’t Go?”
…many people
This is a fair question, and first I’d like to point you to our manifesto for some great points as to why this name helps us change the conversation. Put bluntly, the excesses of the pre-pandemic travel industry have to be challenged and corrected as the world begins to open back up to international travelers.
Beyond that, the name critiques the travel advertisers out there who only ever seem to tell anyone and everyone to go…everywhere. For far too long, the travel industry has gladly taken the money of anyone willing to pay, regardless of whether or not the experience was the right fit for them. If that’s the best we can do, then I suggest we Don’t Go! Let’s change the way we look at a limitless world of experiences, many of which would be the wrong fit for you, specifically, by applying some ruthless curation and prioritization! We’re starting a movement to use better feedback from actual travelers, and to know you well enough to make the right recommendation, at the right time, for the right experiences.
On a more personal note, the motivation to travel is also something that I want to dive deeper into understanding. There’s almost nothing more offensive to me than the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Why’s that? Because the implication is that, if someone hasn’t seen all those places, then they didn’t really live well, or certainly hadn’t made travel enough of a priority. I find the very notion of a single, global bucket list offensive, and that’s coming from a committed, goal-oriented traveler.
If we can’t demand better out of the travel industry, then I suggest we Don’t Go. The better list would be: places you should see, based on who you are, and how and why youi seek to experience the world.
So, yes. There’s a HUGE caveat to the name. Of course we want you to travel! We just want to do it with better insight, with more intent, and to derive even more value from the experience. In doing so, we can end meaningless travel.
Leave a Reply