Apps like NomadMania and Most Traveled People (MTP) are turning globetrotting into an extreme sport.
Hiding in plain sight behind themainstream vacation setting , a belittled community of extreme traveller are embroiled in a never - ending , ecumenical rivalry . They traverse the major planet as promptly and thoroughly as possible , bouncing from wonder to wonder , enduring brute honey oil lag while single-foot up telling ( and wild ) stats along the way of life . The wages ? Swagger , camaraderie , online cred — not to mention a seriously ink - up pass .
militant change of location might seem like a product of the digital age , but its origins actually go way back . The Travelers ’ Century Club , a global organization founded for people who have venture to 100 or more world territory , started recognizing these busybodied rubberneck in 1954 . Of naturally , back then , res publica - hopping was a pursuit for phallus of the 1 % who had tons of fourth dimension on their hired man . Today , travel is more low-priced and accessible than ever . But one affair has continue the same : A burning private road to one - up fellow travelers by regard and doing more — and bringing the receipts to prove it .
These militant traveler may be propelled by an uncontrollable urge to roam , but the purpose of the game for this undivided group is often quantity over quality as they dash between destination most have only daydream of . Whether their amassed global perspective stems from privilege or Age of Reason is a veritable seed of disputation , but from a bird’s - eye sentiment , there ’s no deny that the world is simultaneously at their fingertip and under their foot .
For competitive travelers, the sky’s the limit.|Kar-Tr/iStock/Getty Images
How competitive travel works
Since the inception ofFoursquarealmost 15 twelvemonth ago , geolocation applied science has driven traveler to engraft their personal pivot all over the mapping . But many travelers crave overhaul beyond stop - ins picture their trend . They yearned for a challenge : a way to measure their travel skill against themselves and , more crucially , their match .
Developers respond , and today download for competitive - travel apps likeNomadMania , Most Traveled People(MTP ) , andZondernumber in the hundred of thousands .
Each app scratches a different scabies . NomadMania ’s community focus has an interactional vibe where member can confront off with fellow citizens for change of location glory . Zonder allows user to pass up competing altogether for a moresingle - player secret plan - like experience . MTP can filter by demographics like gender and years , allowing users of all background to get the laurels they merit . Once travelers encounter the app that best suits them , the game is on .
NomadMania is one of the competitive travel industry’s most popular apps.|NomadMania
With 193 UN - recognized Member States and two Observer States ( Palestine andVatican City ) spread throughout the world , many traveller take great superbia in ticking as many land off their list as possible . But competitive travel extends beyond unproblematic country - count . These on-line program parse the planet into micro - region , must - see UNESCO site , and even super - niche categories like iconiccastlesand cable - automobile rides , thus construct a huge concept like “ the whole world ” feel digestible . And every metre a traveler marks a checklist box complete , that emplacement is mechanically add up to their on-going destination tracker .
NomadMania divides the world into 1,301 distinguishable areas , and even offers a directory of fixer for anyone needing guidance while visitingharder - to - reach region . MTP ’s 5,800 potential checkmarks equate to points that awarding members funky titles tiered from “ Couch Potato ” to “ Indiana Jones ” to the precious “ Hall of Famer . ” Zonder take wanderers through an endless menu of collectable venue in over 150 countries .
For extreme nomads , jab into subcategories within travel tends to garner the sound representation of their explorative seeking . This ultra - gritty ranking mode facilitate more travelers , especially those with very specific taste ( see MTP ’s 29 icy area ) , rise to the top of their specialized consortium .
NomadMania Founder Harry Mitsidis poses in Epupa Falls, Namibia.|Photo courtesy of Harry Mitsidis
On most apps , there ’s no set - in - stone criterion for how much time or trekking is postulate to realise that coveted checkmark . In the spirit of “ you do you , ” member decide for themselves whether they ’ve covered enough ground to earn the check . Some say a layover counting . Others believe they need to set fundament on foreign dirt , rather than just take the air around an drome . And still others insist on a 24 - 60 minutes minimum stoppage .
Of naturally , this general lack of regulating around standard milepost is a Brobdingnagian point of rivalry in an otherwise tight - crumple community . observe the remainder between welcoming all traveler and also apply ostensibly arbitrary rules can feel about as far off as chatter Kiribati . Yet NomadMania is the exception to this honor scheme format — the platform spot - checks travelers ’ visa records to add a layer of authenticity .
“ NomadMania go through itself as ‘ breaking the rule ’ in terms of a passel of things , let in what we accept as a visit , ” says beginner Harry Mitsidis . “ For example , going to the DMZ and claiming you ’ve call in North Korea just does n’t disregard it with us : We poll our biotic community , which overwhelmingly rejected such visits . ”
Competitive travelers are racing to document their achievements—but what’s the cost?|Alexander Spatari/Moment/Getty Images
The good, the bad, and the lonely of competitive travel
While a competitive traveler ’s real swag look like having their gens lend to in - app scoreboards and posting digital badges to their profiles , travel ’s real treasures lie down in the collection of moments that make the domain incessantly beautiful in light of its own chaos . Hence , the “ sportsman ” also encourage traveller to look beyond the obvious , if only to get that checkmark .
While the holiday great deal are mobbing Venice andChiang Mai , competitive traveler are venturing deep into oftenoverlooked areas , spread out the shock of touristry — both positive and negative — a piddling more evenly . From this perspective , overleap some cash in Algeria instead oflounging around an all - inclusive Costa Rican resortis probably a win for the global economyandthe environment .
As thing fire up up in the extreme travel community , repeat tripsare bind to become the average , and they ’re a cracking chance for nomads to compass even deeper . “ travel to twice imply that my impression of the first clock time have been confirmed — or sometimes not , ” says Mitsidis , one of only three people confirmed to have chit-chat every commonwealth double .
A Most Traveled People (MTP) user shows off his passport stamps at a travel summit.|MTP - Most Traveled People
However , there ’s also the affair of the monolithic carbon footprint that come with frequent , wide - ranging locomotion . Commuter flights and solo drives are the two bighearted contributors to tourism - related climate variety , and atomic number 6 offset programs just do n’t cut it . In reply , some app companies are face this criticism head - on . NomadMedia , for one , is adopt a plan to help curb CO2 emanation while also keeping up with the demand for origination in the locomotion space .
“ We just found a ' slow ' travel list — in a way , it is still competitive in that you get a score , but the gimmick is you compete establish on howlongyou’ve stayed in one country , ” explains Mitsidis . “ In other words , those who have not been traveling competitively are actually going to get more credit here . ”
“ The combined wage hike of aturn toward sustainabilityas well as Covid are perhaps dampening the exuberance with which people were ticking things off at a fast pace , ” he adds . “ I believe the younger generation , while still take aim to see as much as potential , is doing it in a path which may be different and at last less competitive . ”
Travel can be life-changing… as long as you remember to look up from your phone.|Oleh_Slobodeniuk/ E+/Getty Images
The NomadMania developer has also find that competitive travel ’s structure and define goals can help mass connect in the typically lonely world of global traveling . In plus to a fleck of earn entitlement , the desire to lead an extremist - nomadic life is often a deeply intrinsical thing , and finding kindred spirits who really “ get it ” can be life - affirming . “ In its own manner , it does create residential district , ” he says . “ People get to know each other , and even if it appears as contest , they terminate up traveling together and make lasting friendships . ”
When travel becomes a game, does anyone really win?
Still , the whole construct of the competition beg some questions . What ’s left when the earthly concern ’s wonders become trophies ? Should we have risky venture be reduced to something quantifiable ? Really , does n’t the power to travel at all make every one of us winners ?
In a worst - case scenario , prioritizing endeavor for bragging rights could transubstantiate the prowess of locomotion into a trivial sport , one in which meaningful ethnic exchange falls dupe to a race from checkpoint to checkpoint . And , more beseech still , the world is only so big . What happens where there are simply no checkpoints left for the few completionists uncoerced to scour the entire ground ?
One traveler , Jim Kitchen , has visited all 193 nationsandflown in suborbital distance . It ’s only a thing of time beforesubterranean shipwrecksand cosmic finish arrogate a category all their own . And when they do , there will undoubtedly be a deal of apps to help traveler devolve oarlock all over the next frontier .
