If Travel Is The Best Education, Are We Missing The Lesson?

I’m a self-professed culture nerd. The feeling I get when I solve a cultural dilemma—like why the Italian tour operator said my colleague was taking advantage of him, or how to build trust with a French colleague—gives me a rush that makes me feel like the next Nelson Mandela.

That’s because I’ve also seen the darker side of culture. People are quick to distrust each other around our great, big planet. We notice each other’s differences, and more often than not, we say, “No, thank you,” and retreat back into the comfort of our comfortable, homogenous communities.

But there’s a tension within us—because at the same time, people want to see the world. The hundreds of billions of dollars spent on global travel each year prove it. I hear it all the time:

“I want to change my perspective on the world.”
“I want to learn more about other cultures.”
“Travel is the best education.”

But the truth is that visiting a world wonder doesn’t automatically change your worldview. You walk away with amazing photos and a great memory, and the same mindset you arrived with.

Real transformation happens when we connect with people who are different from us—when we sit down, look beneath the surface, and ask: Why do I do things this way, and why do they do things that way? That’s where growth begins. That’s where we become each other’s teachers. And that’s what makes the world an interesting, beautiful and connected place.

Culture as “Software of the Mind”

My favorite definition of culture comes from Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede, a pioneer in the study of cultural values. His book Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind changed my life after I returned home from living in South Korea for a year.

He defines culture as the collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. That concept gave me the words to describe my confusing and sometimes painful experiences abroad. I realized that my American “software” struggled to be compatible with South Korean “software.” Reading Hofstede was just the beginning of what became a lifelong passion for building cultural awareness—and later, cultural intelligence.

Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a skillset that enables people to function and relate effectively in culturally diverse situations. It allows us to identify our own cultural behaviors, recognize cultural differences in others, and adapt to those differences

Recognizing cultural differences isn’t easy. Often, when we’re frustrated by someone’s behavior, we assume it’s a reflection of their character. For example, let’s say your colleague from the Middle East often arrives late to meetings. You might assume they’re being disrespectful of your time. They should know that in this country, time is money. That’s low-CQ thinking and leads to negative stereotypes, and while it’s common, it’s also deeply damaging to the community.

High-CQ thinking reframes that behavior through a cultural lens. You understand that in many Middle Eastern cultures, relationships take precedence over time and tasks. In contrast, Western cultures often prioritize efficiency and punctuality. With high CQ, you don’t just tolerate this difference—you adapt to it. You work better together. You build mutual respect. You are able to see that your colleague truly values your relationship. And most powerfully, you open up a conversation about cultural expectations that leads to a stronger, more trusting community.

Here’s a tourism example of misunderstanding. How people queue around the world varies drastically. But the small act of lining up says a lot about a culture. Western tourists are often quick to point out perceived chaos in countries where queuing doesn’t include an orderly first-come, first-served principle. They don’t even have curiosity about why the line operates that way, or take the time to observe how it might be efficient. These assumptions—made without curiosity—can harden into negative stereotypes. This is the danger of traveling without cultural awareness.

You’ve probably heard about the iceberg analogy of culture. Above the iceberg are the visible aspects of culture, like traditional dress, language, holidays, and food. This is what many of us tout as “culture” and it makes for great photographs. Below the surface, though, we find beliefs, assumptions, values, mindsets, and more. This is where true culture resides, the kind that you can’t take a picture of.

It can be painful and confusing to learn about “below the iceberg” culture. In fact, this is why people experience culture shock when they live abroad for longer periods of time. Adjusting to the “below the iceberg” aspects of culture challenges your core identity. It disrupts the deep, well-programmed assumptions you were raised with. But in this painful, confused state is where transformation happens. It’s where you learn that there’s more than one way to live life.

While short-term travel doesn’t usually lead to full-blown culture shock, it’s still valuable to prepare travelers for the “full iceberg experience”, so to speak. Even a brief glimpse into rethinking what’s “normal” can spark meaningful insight. This shift can endure beyond the trip itself, because the cultural awareness and adaptability skills remain long after they get home.

I founded Beyond Tourism (goingbeyondtourism.com) to prepare travelers for that kind of transformation. We shouldn’t be sending tourists into the world unprepared only for them to come back with shameful or confusing experiences they don’t want to address. And we certainly shouldn’t be sending them off to return with more stereotypes than they left with.

How have you seen travel backfire? Have you thought about the cultural component of international travel? What advice do you give to people stepping into a very different cultural setting?

I’ll leave you with one final quote from Audre Lorde: “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”