Societal Evolution

Hey Sinforosa, I totally agree with that statement.
Cuba has its own unique cultural identity.
Just like many peoples around the world who have their own identity and culture.
Even better, Cuba has a soul—the soul of Havana can’t be corrupted by dollars from the American economy.
Money and finance can only buy material things.
Cubans may be poor, living in rundown houses and old, beat-up cars.
But that doesn’t stop them from having a joy for life.
It’s not like living in the U.S., where the golden rule is "time is money," so the average American is stressed out by the rat race.
But as they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade :)
What I’m writing might ruffle some feathers, but the U.S. is a country without a distinct soul.
Given that it’s the New World, which skipped straight to modernity.
Don’t forget that the U.S. has only about 250 years of history.

No, we're really getting to the heart of the matter now, at least in my opinion.

The facts are pretty telling, though.
When it comes to guidebooks, we don’t know the numbers, so we can wonder... I have little doubt. For forums, if we take VF as an example, it’s clear right away: out of 10 members (among those brave enough to display their age), more than two-thirds are 60 or older!

It's hard to say how "young people" or "older folks" react...
Saying "thank you" is first and foremost a matter of upbringing, and whether you're young or old, we always come back to that.Regarding trends, here’s what I’ve noticed:
Forums rely on just a handful of contributors (mostly older ones!),
Travel guides are selling less even though people are traveling more,
Social media is either outdated (Facebook) or just commercial advertorials for influencers (Insta and many others),
A lot of travelers set off without a plan,
People often criticize overtourism as if it’s always someone else’s fault ("the Chinese," for example—even though they’re often Korean ;)),
The app "PolarStep" is widely used by 20- to 35-year-olds to share their "experiences,"By 2026, I feel that a series of well-structured AI prompts could be an effective way to plan trips (for those who want to plan). I tested it for trips I’d just taken, and it’s pretty mind-blowing!In reality, when I travel, I prepare using this forum (and sometimes others) and a few travel blogs...

Hello,I think AI is going to take up more and more space in trip planning.As for forums, whether it's VF or others, they rely on a handful of participants, often retirees, some of whom have been around for years, and there’s no renewal, which doesn’t bode well for the future of these forums.And today, there are fewer and fewer real exchanges between travel enthusiasts. Mostly, people come mainly for practical information or to have their itinerary made for them (they could just as easily ask AI these questions), and they don’t come back to share their own insights, help future travelers, or recount how their trip went.Just look at the pre-COVID discussions on VF—there were fascinating exchanges about travel, fun and smart games (with lots of participants). Today, that’s all gone, and it’s the same on other forums.I’m not sure what you mean by traveling "with the wind in your sails," but I think people today know exactly where they’re going and what they’ll see. They gather information differently depending on the generation, but they’re hyper-informed about their chosen destination, hotels, restaurants, etc.
I’m not sure there’s much improvisation left in travel these days.Otherwise, people still read travel journals (even though you might think they’re "outdated" like forums and travel guides). Even for destinations that aren’t widely discussed on forums—I wrote a journal about El Salvador on MyAtlas, and I was surprised by how many views it got in such a short time.

Good evening,So you were on VF before, then... Michel

I’d say it’s more like people in their fifties, even if retirees outnumber teenagers.The only time I asked AI a question where the answer was actually useful, it gave me complete nonsense.And it wasn’t even complicated.
(Going from point A to point B in three 500-kilometer stages—all in Western Europe, so well-trodden routes.)I’ve also tested it with other questions.
The answers are super generic. You have to really push it to get something slightly off the beaten path.What both me the most is how sanitized it feels. You don’t get the sense you’re talking to a person—more like a sales rep who’s *way* too polite to be genuine.
It’s all so smooth and bland.Even when you’re wrong and getting worked up, it just keeps stroking your ego.That’s definitely not the case here… The real issue is finding them.
Google’s search results prioritize ads, sponsored blogs, and all that—not actual travel journals.It’s getting harder and harder to dig them up with just a few keywords.That wasn’t the case before.For addresses and practical info, yeah, they’re pretty outdated.But niche guides still have an audience.Hiking guides, maps like those from International Photographer, pocket guides with day-trip itineraries, or ones focused on history, landmarks, local life, etc.

A few days ago in Tunisia, I was in a café reading a travel guide that mentioned it. The owner came over to ask if his place was in it and took a photo of the paragraph about his establishment.I asked him what year they had visited, and he replied, "They never came—it's just because I have a good reputation!"This confirms what I wrote above. These days, with the internet, the pages in paper guides about hotels, restaurants, and cafés are completely useless. With Google Maps, you can see where the place is located, and by reading several reviews on Google or TripAdvisor, you can get an idea of the quality.
Not to mention that establishments featured in travel guides take advantage of their reputation to charge higher prices than other places that are just as good, if not better.Personally, I’m considering ditching travel guides altogether (I realize I consult them less and less). Their only advantage over the internet is that the information is all in one place, which helps avoid drowning in a sea of sometimes contradictory details.

It’s been a long time since we’d just set off with *South East Asia on a Shoestring*—like, 250 pages covering 10 countries!

Sure, but a phone needs recharging, needs a network, needs Wi-Fi, needs a SIM card to check things offline.Plus, too much information kills information, and details like photos are becoming less and less reliable—commercial links are always pushed to the top, and photos are heavily Photoshopped. With AI, you can even fake selfies from a trip you never took...And then, you’ve got to know how to use it properly.A book, on the other hand, can be consulted anywhere, anytime. Depending on the collection or the authors, the commercial side is less intrusive, photos are less manipulated, and practical info isn’t drowned in disguised ads (like those links to official ticket-selling sites, for example).I find the internet less and less useful for finding real, lived-in, basic experiences. It’s turning into one big shopping mall.