Reflections on the recent  conversation with Richard Lindberg of One Planet Journey on the Balancing Tourism Podcast.

When Richard described driving from Stockholm to Lisbon and staying months at a time, he described a change in how he chooses to travel. He told me, “The seed to One Planet Journey was this trip, right? And my transformation as a traveller as well.” That trip explains why his work matters for anyone who cares about the future of destinations.

What Richard means by deep travel

Deep travel is a mindset. It begins with a clear reason for going. People travel to follow a passion, learn, taste, or meet a community. Richard summed it up simply: “Deep travel is about making travel relevant to you and your personal interest.” That removes the checklist approach and replaces it with curiosity and purpose.

It is a spectrum. Deep travel can be a focused 48 hours in a city or a five month winter on the road. The common element is intention. Planning and research are part of the experience, not a chore to be outsourced.

Why low season matters

Low season changes the texture of a place. Streets are quieter, local businesses are less rushed, and conversations happen more easily. Richard described the same city feeling like a different city when visited in winter. That difference is not only about price or availability. It is about the kinds of encounters that become possible when the calendar is not dictating behaviour.

For destinations, low season is an opportunity to design experiences that reward time and curiosity. It spreads demand across the year and reduces pressure on infrastructure and residents.

Overtourism and the argument for quality

Crowds concentrate in specific places at specific times. That is a management problem. The deeper issue is social: when residents feel sidelined, tourism loses its licence to operate.

Richard argues for different metrics. Instead of celebrating raw arrivals, destinations should ask who is coming, how long they stay, and how much of their spend reaches local people. He also warned against blunt policy moves that simply remove short term rentals without offering alternatives. The aim should be to keep benefits local and to design offers that encourage longer stays, higher local spend, and respectful behaviour.

Concrete actions for destinations

• Agree your identity. Convene local stakeholders and decide what kind of destination you want to be.
• Build low season offers. Create events and curated programs that only run in quieter months and reward engagement.
• Sustain services. Work with businesses to maintain a meaningful level of service in shoulder months.
• Measure value. Add metrics such as local spend per visitor, length of stay, and proportion of spend retained locally.
• Engage earlier. Treat planning and research as part of the travel experience and use storytelling to reach travellers before they book.

These steps are practical and testable. They require coordination and courage, but they are not theoretical.

A few moments from the conversation that stuck with me

Richard used a National Lampoon anecdote to describe the old checklist approach to travel. We also touched on the Transformative Travel Council and a recent point made by Emma about how travel companies underuse the planning phase. I mentioned campaigns I’ve seen, such as Miami’s spring break messaging and Amsterdam’s efforts to be selective about visitors, as examples of destinations experimenting with who they welcome.

See Richard Live at the Tourism Seasonality Summit

Richard’s work with One Planet Journey links inspiration with industry practice. He publishes stories that show how people travel with intention and produces research that helps destinations design for that traveller. He told me the trip that changed him is still a reference point in daily conversation with his wife. That kind of lasting return on travel is what I want for the places I care about: visits that leave memories, strengthen communities, and reduce pressure on fragile places.

Richard will deliver a keynote on Deep Travel at the Tourism Seasonality Summit in Rimini on 17–18 May 2026, where he will expand on how intention, timing and product design can help destinations move from volume to value.

There are early booking offers currently available, making this an ideal moment for destinations, DMOs and travel brands to secure their place. Find out more and book your place here.