ERIK THE TRAVEL GUY
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Q: What Is Travel Local -or- Local Travel?

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A: Local Travel is essentially a shorter vacation taken closer to your home. Traveling local means you are taking a cheap weekend getaway and supporting local business and economies by taking a vacation. Think of these weekend getaways as a means to travel locally.  ​

So here are my five steps to traveling local. The idea of local travel or traveling locally or localish travel is pretty easy to grasp. Due to COVID or budget, scheduling constraints or some combo thereof, the idea of taking a local trip may be an attractive solution for a getaway. I believe traveling local is part of the Vacation Ecosystem. 

​Step 1. Definitions
Local Travel is essentially a shorter vacation taken closer to your home. Traveling local means you are taking a cheap weekend getaway and supporting local business and economies by taking a vacation. Think of these weekend getaways as a means to travel locally. 

Step 2. Drive Time
I break it down by how many hours you can successfully drive in one day. So to make it easy, get out a map and find your town, then draw three circles around your town, one at three hours, one at six and one at nine. I believe about a nine hours drive in one day is the maximum distance. 

​Step 3. Inspiration & Planning
Start your research and discussions about places, experiences or activities you’d like to include on your trip. Also consider how many nights you’re going to spend on this vacation. Like any other vacation, also consider your budget. Your largest expense on a local vacation is most-likely going to be your hotel. On that note, I suggest looking for a branded or flagged hotel (that you know like Marriott, Hilton or Holiday Inn) which is locally owned. This way you have peace of mind in the transparency of the updated health and cleaning standards and you are supporting the local economy. 

​Step 4. Trusted, Local Info.
Once you narrow down your options, check the official tourism bureau. You can find these organizations by googling the name of the place you’d like to visit plus the letters CVB in the search. Most official tourism bureaus have up-to-the-day information about their destination on the homepage of their site which includes local, state and federal restrictions, etc.  

​Step 5. Book & Go!
And of course the final step is to book the trip and GO! Have fun and remember one of the best ways to help restart the economy is by going on vacation! 
no one deals like we do!

Articles From Erik

MEET ERIK THE TRAVEL GUY

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Erik Hastings, a.k.a. Erik the Travel Guy is an EMMY award-winning television personality who speaks directly to consumers who can't afford to "get their vacations wrong". He is the host and managing editor of the internationally syndicated television series "Beyond Your Backyard" for public broadcasting stations (PBS) and other networks/VOD platforms. Erik The Travel Guy is also host of the new podcast, Erik The Travel Guy - The Podcast. He leads an incredibly talented team of industry pros and is the editorial driving force of his platform. While the travel industry directly supports millions of families worldwide, Erik believes travel makes the world a better place. Through exploration and discovery, he has learned that travel brings cultures together and he eagerly shares that spirit with his viewers. Read Erik's Full Bio.


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  • Home
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    • The United States
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