#JSETT Twitter Chat Recap: Destinations Less Visited
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama removed Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, further opening the country up to American travelers. This got us thinking about how small our world has become, due to an ease in travel regulations and/or an increase in transportation options. We know our chat participants have visited some amazing, less-discovered places and thought they could offer up their thoughts and expertise. And boy did they deliver!
Here are some of our favorite responses:
Q1: Some countries (Myanmar, Cuba, etc) have recently opened to new tourism. Are you interested in visiting less-discovered places?
A1: Yes please! I want to go EVERYWHERE! #JSETT @JetsetExtra
— Kim Powers (@KimberlyRose356) April 16, 2015
@JSETTchat A1: to some, but I don’t want to go “just because” they’re now opening up — want to go to enjoy their culture. #JSETT
— Stuart Gustafson (@Author_Stuart) April 16, 2015
A1: I prefer travelling to emerging places – though some places I’ve visited (Syria, Yemen, Iraq) are not so safe now. #JSETT
— Shane Dallas (@TheTravelCamel) April 16, 2015
A1: It’s a fine line. It would be great to discover places that have been unavailable, but I’d hate to see tourism ruin it. #JSETT
— Savored Journeys (@SavoredJourneys) April 16, 2015
Q2: If you could pick one less-visited destination to travel to this year, where would you go and why?
@JetsetExtra A2 Borneo and Sumatra, to see orangutans in the wild. Could hitch it to a trip to Thailand, Vietnam or Malaysia. #JSETT #travel
— Rachel (@rachjournalist) April 16, 2015
A2. We want to go back to the Phillipines! It’s a beautiful place and not often visited for some reason #JSETT pic.twitter.com/uh4MrResWG
— 5 Dollar Traveller (@5Dollartravel) April 16, 2015
A2 Oman. The combo of beautiful, deserted beaches, amazing sand dunes and rugged terrain. Looks majestic #JSETT
— Drive on the Left (@driveonleft) April 16, 2015
@JetsetExtra A2… #CostaRica… And #Peru also. Oh, and the countries of #Scandinavia (I know, that’s 3! Sorry, can’t help it!) #JSETT
— hijinks+halos (@hijinksandhalos) April 16, 2015
A2: Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is gorgeous and we can’t wait to get back! #JSETT pic.twitter.com/wCmhgpA6kQ
— Flights.com (@Flightsdotcom) April 16, 2015
Q3: Are you concerned about how tourism will affect a less-visited country? How do you think things could change?
@JSETTchat A3: hope that tourists can adapt to the destination not the other way around, keep it genuine #jsett
— Jessica van Dop (@DiningTraveler) April 16, 2015
@JSETTchat A3: more tourists = more impact. Therefore try to be a non-impact traveler (and help others do the same) #JSETT
— Stuart Gustafson (@Author_Stuart) April 16, 2015
@JSETTchat A3. Yes. I worry that cultures & traditions may become commercialized & lose meaning. #JSETT
— Luxe Travel Family (@Luxetravelfam) April 16, 2015
Q3 A lot of countries are still figuring out how to promote & develop tourism strategies so my answer is NO. Be adventurous, go early #JSETT
— Jon Hochstat (@JHochstat) April 16, 2015
Q3: Tourism can bring so much revenue & be a huge benefit to a country but also ruin authenticity. A tricky balance to get right. #JSETT
— Laura Jane Mellor (@SheRoadTrips) April 16, 2015
Q4: Is there a country you want to visit but are too nervous/afraid to travel to at this time? Where and why?
@OneTravelLove @JSETTchat A4: lots in Africa, but quite scary right now in many places #JSETT
— Stuart Gustafson (@Author_Stuart) April 16, 2015
@JetsetExtra A4. Myanmar. Excited to visit & wouldn’t be nervous solo, but worry about taking the kids. #JSETT
— Luxe Travel Family (@Luxetravelfam) April 16, 2015
A4. Always wanted to go to Egypt! Can be unsafe for female travelers #JSETT
— hovelstay.com (@hovelstay) April 16, 2015
A4: Israel nervous from the news, but there are so many travelers who have said how amazing it was and how safe they felt #JSETT
— JJ Berman (@theurbanenomad) April 16, 2015
Q4: Would love to see the sulfur fields of Ethiopia but both temperatures and political unrest make me uneasy at the moment. #JSETT
— Laura Jane Mellor (@SheRoadTrips) April 16, 2015
Q5: Have you ever experienced difficulty getting a visa or travel permits to a country?
A5: Visa mistakenly issued w/ the wrong expiration year, but I still made it through Heathrow fine with it expired. #JSETT @JetsetExtra
— Kim Powers (@KimberlyRose356) April 16, 2015
A5. No. Guess I should set my sights on more challenging destinations. #JSETT https://t.co/z7G8ccytqP
— Charles McCool (@CharlesMcCool) April 16, 2015
@JSETTchat A5 Didn’t like having to surrender my passport a few days for my Chinese visa but that’s part of the game… #JSETT
— Jessica van Dop (@DiningTraveler) April 16, 2015
A5 Always had issues at Canadian border when driving in from the US. Been searched, both personally and my vehicle, every time #JSETT
— Drive on the Left (@driveonleft) April 16, 2015
Q6: Is there a destination you think deserves more or different attention than it gets currently?
A6 Costa Rica, especially for Culinary Tourism. It (and most of Central America) is/are a black hole to the culinary world #JSETT
— Jon Hochstat (@JHochstat) April 16, 2015
A6. the Philippines – it’s always typhoons in the news but it’s an awesome place that everyone should visit! #JSETT pic.twitter.com/SYlGda8HNr
— 5 Dollar Traveller (@5Dollartravel) April 16, 2015
A6 #JSETT – Mexico for sure. Admittedly there are problems in certain areas, but there are places in my country not suitable for tourists.
— CruiseWriter (@Cruisewriter) April 16, 2015
@JSETTchat A6 We think many of the smaller Caribbean islands deserve more attention. Look at this beauty! #BVI #JSETT pic.twitter.com/uJqXmcfexC
— Elite Island Resorts (@EliteIsland) April 16, 2015
@JetsetExtra A6: Hong Kong deserves more attention. It is simply amazing. #JSETT
— Travel on the Brain (@travel_brain) April 16, 2015
A6: I think getting to know the place you live is often under-rated – many new things can be discovered in places seen as familiar. #JSETT
— Laurie Dalton (@roamingcurator) April 16, 2015
@JSETTchat A6 another one is #Taipei as an Asian city trip, did not see much western tourists #JSETT pic.twitter.com/JYGrddbAmP
— Jessica van Dop (@DiningTraveler) April 16, 2015
A6 People always think of London when they think of traveling to the UK, but the rural UK is some of the beautiful land in the world #JSETT
— Drive on the Left (@driveonleft) April 16, 2015
A6) Mesopotamia modern #Iraq is rich with Culture, History, and archaeological sites such as Babylon deserves different attention #JSETT
— Rohit Jobanputra (@TravelPunter) April 16, 2015
Our Twitter chat is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. PST/1:30 p.m. EST, using the hashtag #JSETT. See how the chat works and join us for the next one!
