Why Travel Shaming Has Returned – And What It Reveals About Us
The Social Media Judgment Machine
The surge of travel shaming on social media platforms underscores a concerning shift in the way we perceive and engage with travel. This phenomenon has fostered a climate where individuals feel pressured to defend their travel decisions, often facing intense scrutiny from others. The result is a palpable sense of unease and guilt surrounding travel choices.
A June study by Ketchum found that 67% of people would judge others for traveling before it was considered “safe”, while more than half expected to censor their social media posts to avoid being “travel shamed” themselves. 38% of posts were categorized as having a negative sentiment, driven in part by conversation shaming people for going away despite the crisis.
The Climate Guilt Revolution
Flight shame or flygskam (Swedish) is a social movement that discourages air travel due to its environmental impact, including outsized carbon emissions linked to anthropogenic climate change. Originating in Sweden, the term was popularized by climate activist Greta Thunberg, with the movement alternatively known as an anti-flying or anti-flight movement. Flight shame refers to an individual’s uneasiness over engaging in consumption that is energy-intense with consequences for the climate and environment.
The term has gained popularity in recent years as more people become aware of the carbon emissions associated with flying and the need to reduce their personal carbon footprint to address climate change. What started as environmental awareness has morphed into a tool for public judgment.
When Numbers Tell the Painful Truth
In 2018, 11% of the global population took a flight, 4% flew abroad and 1% was responsible for half of global aviation emissions, according to a November 2020 study from Linnaeus University. These stark statistics reveal the inequality at the heart of travel debates.
In a study of frequent travelers, a sizable portion (around 35%) admitted to feeling guilty about trips to luxury resorts or destinations perceived as having environmental concerns. This guilt could lead them to opt for cheaper, all-inclusive vacation packages as a way to alleviate these feelings and justify their choices.
The Psychology Behind Our Need to Judge
Interestingly, the criticism often originates from a place of insecurity, with individuals projecting their own anxieties onto others, which in turn sustains the cycle of negativity within travel circles. Travel shaming isn’t really about the environment or safety – it’s about our own feelings of inadequacy and envy.
It’s been shown that defending one’s travel choices can actually result in a boost in self-esteem. Publicly articulating one’s personal values in the face of criticism appears to foster resilience and strengthen a sense of self-efficacy, showcasing an interesting coping mechanism for managing negativity. This creates a vicious cycle where shaming and defending feed off each other.
The Instagram Effect on Real Places
The extremely wide reach of social networks also sparks fear that places will go viral too quickly for a destination to manage the resulting swarms of users intent on visiting trendy areas. Though these cases are likely to be fueled by a minority of travelers, that’s expected to grow over time as social media gains even more traction.
That influx, in turn, is creating what we’ve come to know as overtourism, where destinations are being loved to death. Streets in places like Barcelona are packed year-round. Residents in many places that were once proud to showcase their cities to visitors are now fleeing, and their home cities have turned into backdrop sets. The very thing we’re trying to protect is being destroyed by our judgment of others.
Post-Pandemic Paranoia Lingers
This practice of guilt-tripping people for having the time and resources to experience other cultures rose post-pandemic since it’s how we got ourselves in a pickle last time, as many blamed travel for spreading the coronavirus like wildfire. The pandemic gave people a legitimate reason to shame travelers, and many haven’t let go of that power.
Concerns about overtourism and excessive tourism have long existed in popular destinations, but those concerns have heightened as travel demand increased after the end of many COVID-19 restrictions. What was once practical concern has transformed into moral superiority.
The Violent Reality of Anti-Tourism Protests
The biggest day for over- and anti-tourism conversations was July 9, 2024, when mentions spiked 50 times higher than average. The spike was caused by news that thousands of Barcelona locals marched through the streets (and sprayed tourists with water) in the popular Spanish city in protest of mass tourism and its effects.
This spike was caused by media coverage of a viral video showing a British tour guide arguing with a woman who asked him to be quiet at a shrine in Japan, sparking debates about cultural etiquette, overtourism, and the behavior of tourists in foreign countries. Physical confrontation has become the new normal in travel shaming.
How We’re Adapting to Avoid the Shamers
The anxiety associated with travel guilt can sometimes lead to a preference for less popular, or even unknown, destinations. This behavior stems from a desire to avoid the scrutiny that might come with more “mainstream” travel choices, subtly influencing the overall flow of tourists and travel demand.
One study found that 61% of travelers have started to avoid visiting certain locations to keep from contributing to overcrowding and other negative impacts. We’re literally changing our travel behavior to avoid judgment rather than make genuinely better choices.
The Futility of Individual Blame
First, this approach puts the burden on individuals, rather than accelerating the systems changes that will cut carbon from flight. Second, this approach simply won’t scale. Flying is a large and growing sector, and we live in a diverse, interconnected, and increasingly mobile world. Even if you can convince some small percentage of Sierra readers to kick their flying habit, it will be a proverbial drop in the bucket to the continued growth of aviation as the global economy recovers from the recent pandemic.
They place the burden of solving climate change squarely on the shoulders of ordinary people. They imply that unless we decline to do things that might bring us great joy – like start a family, or experience the world beyond our own borders – we are responsible for the destruction of the planet.
The Social Media Echo Chamber Effect
One of the ways people who want to travel-shame you can learn about your travels is through your social media accounts. The more you post about your trips, the more ammunition they have. Of course, it doesn’t mean you have to live to please them, but what are your reasons for sharing your travels and your life, for that matter, on the Internet? Are you doing it for likes, comments, or to show others you’re living the #blessedlife? If you’ve been shamed for your trips before, maybe post less in 2025 for your peace of mind and avoid telling people about your travel plans.
The Generational Divide in Travel Judgment
According to Phocuswright’s travel research report Far From the Madding Crowd? The Truth About Overtourism and Dispersal, just 22-30% of travelers said that they make a specific effort to go to the places featured from their personal networks, discovery feeds or from influencers. However, travelers ages 18-34 are most likely to say that trait describes them well. So the trend is likely to increase as this digitally comfortable population becomes a larger part of the overall traveler population. Younger generations are both the most influenced by social media and the most likely to shame others for their choices.
The Inequality We Won’t Address
In autumn 2014, a German survey shown that Green Party voters travel more often by plane: 49% flew once a year compared to 42% of Left voters, 36% of CDU/CSU (Conservatives) supporters and 32% of SPD (Labour) supporters. None of them never flew, compared to 17%, 16% and 13% for the other supporters, respectively. Only 48% of the Green voters agreed with the statement “It’s a good thing that many people can afford to fly today” while 69% to 77% of the other parties agreed.
This reveals the uncomfortable truth: those who shame others for traveling often travel more themselves. It’s hypocrisy masquerading as environmental concern.
What This All Really Reveals About Us
While individuals with high EC mainly experienced eco-guilt, individuals with low EC mainly experienced eco-shame and individuals with a medium level of EC experienced both emotions. Both eco-guilt and eco-shame can increase pro-environmental behaviors under certain conditions, but their effects are complex, and eco-shame in particular, risks leading to environmentally harmful behaviors. Therefore, harnessing these emotions to promote pro-environmental behavior introduces moral as well as practical considerations.
Travel shaming isn’t solving climate change or overtourism – it’s exposing our need to feel morally superior to others. Furthermore, the omnipresence of social media has amplified this trend, often overshadowing the genuine reasons that drive individuals to explore the world. We’ve forgotten that travel can be transformative, educational, and necessary for human connection.
Travel shaming has returned not because we care more about the planet, but because it gives us permission to judge others while feeling virtuous about ourselves. The real question isn’t whether people should travel less – it’s whether we can find better ways to address genuine environmental and social concerns without destroying the human need to explore and connect across cultures. Maybe it’s time to stop shaming and start building better systems instead.
