what is travel history means

Travel History: Definition, Importance and How to Make Travel HistoryTravel History

These days everyone is searching about what is travel history, its importance and how can we make a good travel history, which can help us to get visa approval for USA, Canada or other high profile countries.

These days visa refusal rate of USA, Canada, and other developed countries are high. Some people get visa refusal due to lack of travel history. If you don’t have a good travel history or your passport is new and blank, then there is an excellent chance to get visa refusal. Here you know all about travel history in this article. Let’s start!

What is Travel History?

Travel history is a track record of a traveler/visitor past visits to outside of their home country. Whenever someone visits into a foreign country than he /she got an immigration stamp or a visa stamp on their passport, this records of stamps on the passport is called travel history. Travel history tells about all the recent visits of passport holder such as where he/she travel or when he/she travel.

A good travel history helps a lot to get visa approvals for developed countries like as USA, Canada and, United Kingdom. Travel history is not an essential or required document/condition for obtaining a visa, but if you made a good travel history, then it can increase your chance of visa approval.

Why is Travel History Important?

Travel history is a record of your visits where you travel in the past. Every councilor or country wants to know where you travel in the past because they think if you come in their country directly without visiting another country than there is a chance that you don’t go back your country.

Why they feel so because this happened in 1980 when there were not strong visas law as compares to today, and mass no of people went to western countries on a tourist visa, and they don’t come back to their country. As a result, conditions of immigration crises arise. To control or anticipate this immigration crisis, they made strict visa norms and rules which followed these days.

Now they check travel history before granting a visa. A good travel history assured to councilor that you are a genuine tourist or travel or your sole purpose of traveling is not immigration. If you want to make a strong impression on the visa officer, then make a good travel history first.

How to Make Travel History?

How can we create travel history and take care of some points which helps you to get the approval of visa? If you want to create travel history then starts with visa on arrival countries or E Visa countries. First, check the list of allowed countries which gives Visa on arrival or E Visa on your passport.

You can travel Mauritius, Seychelles, Cambodia, Philippines, Hong Kong. The benefits of visiting these countries are that you will enjoy here and also you will get an immigration stamp on your passport. The risk factor is zero.

Visiting five to six countries is suitable for creating a good travel history. If you visited these countries in a single trip than problems can arise. Make sure that you travel 1 or 2 countries in a single tour . Take a gap of 1 month or 2 months between your trip because it gives a positive sign that you are a genuine traveler and you don’t visit these countries only for creating travel history.

If you are applying for highly developed countries like the USA, Canada, UK and you visited in Thailand, Sri Lanka then there is a chance that you don’t get approval. Travel some prominent countries like Hong Kong, China, Russia, Seychelles before applying for a visa because it gives a good impression that you are a genuine traveler. You can increase your visa rating by following these points, and these will helps you in getting visa approval.

How to Check Travel History?

Travel history is vital for getting visa approvals of various developed countries like the USA, UK, and Australia. Travel history is a track record of your international visits to a foreign country. Every year people change their old passport to a new passport and forget about their recent visits to the countries. New passports are blanks so there is a possibility that they can forget about their many foreign visits and proper dates of travel.

It is not possible to search into their travel archive for old plane tickets; travel itineraries to arrange travel history in a systematic way. Even worse, they also forget their visa is still valid or not to the specific countries and when they travel to this country. Don’t worry; you can check your travel history through online and offline.

If you have your old passport, then there are not any problems because whenever you enter or exit from a foreign country, you got an immigration stamp on your passports. You can track your travel history by the help of visa stamps and immigration stamps.

If you change your old passport to new and you don’t have your old passport, then you can also track down your USA travel history online. Go to this link https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home . It is the official website of US Customs and Border Protection.

Click on Need a History of Your Arrivals & Departures. Fill your details like name, date of birth, or passport no. After that click on next and you will get your travel history details. Print these results for further reference.

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7 Foolproof Ways to Build Your Travel History

A strong travel history is an important factor when applying for visas. While it is not a mandatory requirement, it can significantly improve your chances of a successful application. If you hold a travel document (passport) that is considered weak (like the Nigerian passport), then a strong travel history can help strengthen it when you apply for visas or travel to your dream destinations .

In this article, I will highlight steps you can take as a new traveller to build your travel history and make your (tourist) visa application process a little less painful. I also have another article detailing some useful tips to help improve your chances for a successful application.

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Please note that it is ultimately up to the visa officer to determine whether or not your application is successful. These are only tips to help increase your chances of that happening. They cannot guarantee whether or not you get a visa. That being said, let’s jump right in!

What's Covered in this Post

What is Travel History?

Travel history (for visa application purposes) refers to the countries you have visited in the past outside your home country . Several countries request applicants to name places they have been to in the last 5 – 10 years, including the date of entry and exit.

I am not a visa officer, but I believe this information provides an indicator of your track record with previous visas and stays in the countries listed, what countries you are visiting, and to confirm whether or not you are a genuine traveller.

Let me explain better:

Confirming your track record via your travel history

Scenario 1 : Your previous tourist visa to the United States was successful. However, in your application, you had stated that you would be there for a 2-week holiday, but your travel history shows that stayed there for 6 months.

What this could say about you: Technically, you haven’t breached the terms of your visa. After all, the Point of Entry (POE) officer does stamp your passport for a stay of up to 6 months. However, if you do not have a substantial reason for this extension, it could indicate that your reason for the trip was not genuine in the first place.

It might also indicate that you breached your visa conditions by working in the US or that you do not have steady employment if you have claimed that you do. It is rare to find a company that gives that much paid time off to employees. This in turn then speaks about your financial situation and could lead to more scrutiny of your application at best.

Confirming the countries you are travelling to

Did you truthfully state all the places you have been to and how long you have stayed there? Have you recently been to a country with an epidemic or conflict? Do you often visit such countries? What was the purpose of your visit to these places? These are some of the questions that a travel history could help provide answers to.

Confirming the genuineness of your application

Scenario 2 : In the last 3 months, you went from having a new passport with no travel history to visiting 3 visa-free and visa on arrival countries in West and East Africa for tourism. In month 4, you apply for a visa to the UK .

What this could say about you: This could indicate that you visited these countries to build a travel history for the sole purpose of applying for a UK visa.

This one is a bit tricky because one of my tips for building a strong travel history is to visit countries like these. However, I advise that you take the approach of genuinely visiting these places for the experiences and spreading out your travels.

Now that we have talked in detail about what travel history is and what they represent, let’s talk more about how to build a strong one. Here are 7 tips to help you do so:

1. Visit visa-free countries or those that offer evisas or a visa on arrival

A good first step to building a strong travel history is to invest in travel to visa-free countries or those that give you a visa on arrival or an evisa. It is even better when the country places a visa sticker in your passport booklet, but stamps could help too.

Now, you have to be intentional about the places you choose to go. For example, if you live in Nigeria and visit Benin , Togo , or Ghana for a holiday, then immediately apply for a fairly difficult visa thereafter, your visa application may get denied, especially if other parts of your application are not very strong.

What you can do instead is to visit nearby countries, visa-free, countries with evisas and visas on arrival and then apply to a country with a fairly easy application process.

PS : I am not saying that you cannot get a visa to a “big name” country if the only places you have travelled to are neighbouring countries. All I am saying is that application processes tend to get easier if you build your travel history well.

2. Apply to countries with fairly easy visa application processes

“All visa applications are equal, but some applications are more equal than others” – Not George Orwell

Provided you meet all the application requirements and can prove strong home ties, the visa application processes for some countries are fairly easy. Some of these places include South Africa , India , Morocco, a few countries in Europe, etc.

Remember, the more visa approvals you get, the stronger your travel history.

3. Join a group tour

Another way to build a good travel history is to join group tours by reputable companies that have packages that are inclusive of visa processing. I have seen packaged trips from tour companies in Nigeria to South Africa , Morocco , Egypt , Turkey , and Jordan, to name a few.

Take advantage of this but be careful to only go with reputable companies to avoid getting scammed.

4. Save the big names for later

Some countries are dream destinations for many Nigerians, but these countries have the toughest visa application processes. To avoid multiple visa denials from these places, it is important to strengthen your application as much as you can.

This involves having good finances and a steady income, strong home ties, crime-free records and of course, a strong travel history.

It may make more sense to defer your visit to these places until such a time when you check all the boxes for a successful application. Refer to the first 3 tips if in doubt.

5. Make use of your visas

Once you do get a visa from a “big name” country, be sure to use it properly if you have the means to. For example, did you know that a valid US visa can help you get into over 20 more countries as a Nigerian passport holder? Or that a valid Schengen, UK, Irish, Canadian, or Japanese visa can take you to more places as well?

If you’re looking to expand your travel history, this is a great way to do so.

6. Solidify your application and home ties

As I have stated earlier, more visa approvals equal stronger travel history. When you apply for a tourist visa, the visa application officer wants to know four main things:

• Is the purpose of your trip genuine?
• Would you return to your home country once your trip is over?
• Do you have enough funds to cover your trip? Are your finances in order?
• Would you pose a security threat if you are allowed to enter the said country?

It is your job as the applicant to supply all necessary documentation to help the visa officer come to a positive conclusion.

Here are ways to do that:

Prove that your trip is genuine

• Submit your travel itinerary, inclusive of your hotel and return flight reservations
• Submit complete stated requirements for your visa type
• If you are invited for an interview, be sure to communicate precisely and concisely what your travel plans are.
• Present photocopies of other visas that you have received.

Prove that you would return to your home country (home ties)

• Employed? Submit a copy of your employment and promotion letters (on official company paper, with stamp, signature and date)
• Submit an introduction letter from your company detailing your position, salary and the length of your employment, confirming that you have been given time off work and your position will be kept until your return, and state whether this time off is paid or unpaid.
• Also, present a self-introduction letter or a cover letter
• Submit your admission letter or letter from your school department if you are a student
• For retirees: present a copy of the retirement certificate
• Marriage certificates and photos of family are also good to present
• Details of community involvement and activities
• For self-employed applicants: Present your business documents e.g., Permit, Memorandum & Certificate of Incorporation, Certificate of Registration, certified bank statements
• Details of your properties and businesses in your home country
• Tax certificates, etc.

Prove that you are in good financial standing

• Submit a bank statement showing a healthy inflow, outflow and balance to cover your trip.
• Avoid unexplained lump sum payments into your account when you print your statement. This is a huge red flag and is often the basis for denial. If this is unavoidable, you should provide a letter explaining the source of the funds.
• Submit your pay stubs if you are employed
• If you are self-employed, it is good practice to separate your business account from your personal one and pay yourself a consistent figure monthly.
• If you are retired and you receive a pension, submit a letter to show that
• Lastly, if you have other savings or investment accounts, you should also submit statements showing that.

Prove that you would not pose a security threat

• A few embassies do ask for a police report. So, if you are asked for that, you should submit one showing a crime-free record

7. Keep an eye on your finances

Finally, in building a good travel history, you would need to travel more. For Nigerians, most countries that place a sticker on your passport cost fairly more than say neighbouring countries or those that don’t. This means you might have to make some financial adjustments to be able to afford your trips.

It is always a good idea to live within or even below your means, cut costs where you can and have a separate travel fund. Of course, none of these applies if you’re Richie Rich! 🙂

Anyway, I hope these tips help and wish you success in your quest to strengthen your passports, build a strong travel history and visit your dream destinations!

Have I missed anything? Please share your best tips for building a strong travel history with me and other readers. Also, I would love to hear about your visa application journey.

• What is the easiest visa you have applied for to date?
• What is the cheapest visa you have applied for to date?
• What is the toughest visa you have applied for to date?
• Your funniest/weirdest/most annoying visa application denial (if any)
• The visa application process you’re dreading
• Finally, the one you are most looking forward to.

I’ll go first in the comment section and will love to hear from you too!

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I love to hear from you, leave a comment here cancel reply, 29 comments.

I got a Uk visitor visa refusal due to financial inconsistency. You made mention of having a separate personal account from salary account. I want to ask for POF account, will it be only inflow of money and must i use both accounts? How long should i wait after building a travel history before i reapply for my next UK visa?

Hi Ezinne, sorry about the refusal. Regarding the separation of your salary account and personal account, I think you might have misunderstood me. I was referring to entrepreneurs and individuals who run their own businesses. In this case, your business account should be separate and you should pay yourself a consistent monthly salary. This is a good practice even outside visa applications.

If you are employed, it is likely that your salary account will also be your personal account and this is what you should submit. This account must show a consistent inflow of income from your employer, as well as, a fairly consistent spending pattern. You may also include any other accounts (such as an investment account) to support this. As for the wait time, there’s no specific time period. 6 months is usually the window given but you can apply at anytime when there’s a considerable change in your circumstances.

Myself is Akash Younus from Pakistan studying in Baku, Azerbaijan holding a resident permit. I am 20 years old and enrolled in business administration in Bechalors it’s been 5 months in Azerbaijan and was willing to apply for Poland in management of digital marketing not in q small city. I got rejected! Why?

1:- There are reasonable doubts that you will not leave terrorism after the visa expiry

2:- There are reasonable doubts regarding the reliability of the statement you made about the purpose of your stay in the territory of Poland due to the evidence that is available to the authority or due to the objective circumstances that the purpose of the stay could be different than declared.

Documents attached:-

 Visa application form  Azerbaijan resident card  Picture  Passport (Valid till 2027)  Cover letter  Motivation letter  Invitation the letter from the university  Adletters from the university  Curriculum vitae  Educational documents  Bank statement (Own)  Employment Letter (Sponsor)  Bank statement t of the sponsor  Salary slips of sponsor  Accommodation proof in Poland  TraveInsurancece  Tickets Reservation (Confirmed both sides)

My sponsor is my elder brother he lives in Poland as an accounts manager he pays taxes.

So what should I do? Should I make travel history from Azerbaijan and then apply again next semester in a different Schengen country like Slovakia because I was admittinto Slovakia

Looking forward to seeking your guidance

Hello Akash, I’ve responded to your message on IG but just to reiterate that I am not in the best position to provide guidance regarding visas other than tourist visas. It will be best to seek the opinions of others who have more experience applying for other visa types.

I dont have travel history yet, but my husband has been in UAE for 5 years, we just got married. i applied to US on a P3 visa but got denied. I’m pregnant and wish to give birth in a country that offers citizenship by birth. I’m considering mexico, there is no stamp of refusal on my passport….what can u advise i do pls

Hi Faustina, I don’t know much about the P3 visa but generally, your visa application will be based on your own merit and no one else’s. I also don’t have much knowledge about giving birth in other countries. You can try asking this question on Nairaland – there’s more first-hand information available there.

Hey, quick question. in 2018 I applied for a b2 USA visa and I got rejected quickly. Back than I was a student who has never travel before. in 2019 I got a Schengen visa and I visited Germany for a week and then France for another one. This year I got a Canada visitor visa and i visited for a month in the summer ( i bought the ticket in February when I got the visa ). I’m planning on applying again to the b2 us visa to visit new York and Miami. Do you think I have a good travel history? will it help? will the previous rejection be a problem?

Hello, yes, I think those countries you have visited are great candidates for a strong travel history. It also seems that your circumstances have changed – which is what the visa officer is hoping to see after a previous rejection. Only the visa officer can determine whether your application is successful or not but I think you have a good chance for a successful application this time around – provided you also have strong ties to your home country (e.g. a good job, marriage, kids, etc). Goodluck!

You givee some information about Schengen visa

Look out for upcoming posts.

Hi Ama, I must commend your effort in detailing on general procedures. Even travel agents you pay will still keep you in the dark. Thumbs up! Kindly give me an example of a community involvement supporting document and an advisable minimum balance as good financial standing. Thanks

Hi Bellwether, thanks for your comment. Regarding financial standing, there is no single number I can recommend. Some countries give a number, others don’t. They need to know if you can afford the trip – aka, do you earn enough to do so? Do you have enough money left in your account after your trip? Does your budget vs your income make logical sense? etc…

Community involvement is an optional document and may include certificates or letters of participation/recommendation for activities you volunteer for or participate in within your community.

Hi! So I was in Russia for the world cup(2018), I stayed up till December 1, which I wasn’t supposed to initially as stated in the E.visa for the WC. The reason for that was actually the Russian president after the final match declared that anyone with that type of visa could stay till December 31. Long story short the embassy confirmed it in Moscow that I could stay or decide to go and come back until the said time. Now I’m applying for a study visa in Germany and I don’t know if it’s going to help or make it worse lol and I’m being sponsored in btwn.. thanks

Hello Abidi, there are a few things to consider here. If your stay was legal, then you should not have much to worry about. Although, as I mentioned in the post, staying an extra 6 months, though legal, can still raise some doubts about your travel intentions in the visa officer’s mind.

Having said that, this post focuses mainly on people applying for tourist visas. The process and scrutiny may be a little different for study visas.

Hello,this is fawwad here from India and i am working in Dubai,i am working in dubai on employment visa ,i already travel dubai and qatar. now i planning to move schengen. can you assist??????

Hi Fawwad, sorry, I am not familiar with relocation processes to the EU.

Nice article. Would definitely come in handy soon. Thank you for sharing.

You’re welcome! Thanks for reading and looking forward to reading about your future adventures!

Lovely write up Amarachi…still dont have the travel history..will save this write up for later..its very informing as always

Thanks, Bella! Wish you success in your future applications.

Easiest sticker visa: Morocco. Toughest visa: Overall, I’d say the US. Cheapest visa: Kenya evisa at $51. Weirdest denial: Angola. Visa applications I’m dreading: Indonesia and Thailand. The ones I’m most looking forward to are South Korea and Japan.

Why did Angola deny our star girlll?! Hehe. This is a very solid post.

Haha, don’t mind them! The day I went, everyone who was at the embassy was denied unjustly. They later overturned the decision for my colleagues who had to be in the country urgently but by then, I didn’t need to go anymore.

It could be that they used the denial to generate money for their Embassy/High Commission. You know embassies generate revenue for their ministry of interior.

Probably, but I don’t see the point, specifically for the Angolan embassy in Nigeria. Anyway, I hope they’re doing better now and not denying visas unjustly!

Please do u think lack of previous travel may affect a visa outcome for Australia cuz I just applied

Only the visa officer can determine this. A good travel history simply gives you a bit more advantage, it is not the only factor that immigration officers consider but it is an important one. I wish you good luck.

Please can you tell me how you started the Australia visit visa process. It’s so hard than I thought 🤔

All the process is online, u visit the official homeaffairs website and register immacount where u fill all online form and scan your documents pay the fee n u will be sent a biometrics request letter to go for biometrics at vfs global in lag or Abuja, book appointment with vfs go for it n ur done

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Form I-94, Explained

How the i-94 arrival/departure record keeps track of your travel history — and why it matters, in this guide.

• What is the Form I-94?
• Easy. Online. Immigration.
• Who Needs an I-94 Form?
• How Do I Get an I-94 Card?
• Understanding the I-94 travel history
• I-94 arrival-departure record number
• How Much Does the I-94 Form Cost?
• Form I-94 FAQs
• Related Articles

Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record Card) is a crucial document U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issues to track people entering and exiting the United States.  Here’s why it’s important:

• It serves as proof that you entered the country legally as a non-citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• It specifies the date by which you must depart the U.S. This is especially important for non-immigrants, such as students or scholars, whose stay is limited to a specific period.
• The I-94 document also indicates the authorized duration of your stay in the U.S., which can be helpful for employers who are verifying your employment eligibility.

Historically, the I-94 was a small white paper card that visitors surrendered upon leaving the country. Currently, most visitors arriving by air or sea have electronic I-94 records . If you arrive by land, you may still receive a paper version. In this article, we’ll explain how it works.

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Here’s a breakdown of who needs an I-94 form:

• Most people traveling to the U.S. who aren’t citizens:  This includes tourists, students, temporary workers, exchange visitors, etc
• Individuals who are adjusting their status while in the U.S.
• Individuals planning to extend their current non-immigrant stay in the U.S.
• Non-citizens returning to the U.S.

You do not need an I-94 travel record if you are:

• A U.S. Citizen
• A Lawful permanent resident (green card holder)
• An individual with an immigrant visa
• A Canadian citizen visiting or in transit
• Travelers under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP); they get an I-94W instead, which is usually processed online

Most people entering the United States who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents get an I-94 travel record form automatically issued to them upon arrival.

Exceptions are made for those entering on the Visa Waiver Program or Compact of Free Association , using Border Crossing Cards , re-entering using automatic visa revalidation (a system used by some visa-holders who briefly visit Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean), or entering temporarily as part of an airline flight crew.

Immigration Glossary

• Visa Waiver Program:  A program that lets citizens of certain countries visit the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without needing a traditional visa.
• Border Crossing Cards:  These cards function like visas for some Mexican citizens, allowing them to visit the U.S. for short periods.
• Automatic Visa Revalidation:  A special rule that lets people with certain visas make quick trips to Canada, Mexico, or some Caribbean islands without needing a new visa to re-enter the U.S.

IMPORTANT: Some people who aren’t required to have an I-94 travel record must instead fill out Form I-94W (for visitors using visa waivers) or Form I-95 (for flight crew members). These forms have a similar purpose to a regular I-94. Upon arrival, check with the CBP Officer if you think this might apply to you.

The U.S. immigration system can seem complicated, but Boundless can guide you through the whole process from start to finish. Get started today!

How you get an I-94, depends on how you enter the U.S. If you enter by land, you’ll receive a paper I-94 card. If you enter by sea or air, you won’t receive a paper I-94 but will instead receive an electronic I-94 record.

Arriving by air or sea

Most visitors entering the U.S. by air or sea will have an electronic I-94 record automatically created for them when they go through customs. When you arrive in the United States, you’ll show your passport and visa to a CBP agent, who will enter your information into an electronic tracking system . They will then stamp your passport, to show you entered the U.S. lawfully.

You’ll probably receive printed instructions about how to access your electronic I-94, but using the CBP’s online system , you can easily view your travel record and download or print a copy for your records.

Arriving by land

If you arrive at a land border crossing, you’ll likely receive a small, white paper I-94 card. A CBP officer will fill it out and usually staple it into your passport. To save time at the border, you can apply for an I-94 before you come to the U.S. through CBP’s online system . Note, there is a $6 fee for this.

Whether electronic or paper, be sure to keep your I-94 safe. You will need to hand in the paper version when leaving the U.S., so the U.S. government can track your departure and know that you left the country before your visa expired. Also, you may need this form for things like applying for a driver’s license, getting a job, or changing your immigration status.

I-94 travel history is essentially a log of your past entries and exits when coming and going from the U.S. It’s tracked through your I-94 records. It includes details around the dates you arrived and departed from the U.S., the ports of entry and exit, your class of admission (e.g., your reason for visiting) such as tourism, student visa, etc. It also includes how long you were authorized to stay on each visit.

Both your stamped passport and your electronic or paper I-94 record will show your “ Admit Until Date ,” which shows how long you are allowed to remain in the United States. The CBP agent who stamps your passport may simply write “ Duration of Status ” or “D/S,” which indicates that you’re allowed to remain in the United States as long as your current visa remains valid.

Why it’s important

Your I-94 travel history can be important for several reasons:

• It shows that you have entered the country legally in the past.
• If you’re applying to change or adjust your immigration status, you may need to provide your I-94 travel history as supporting documentation.
• If there are any errors or issues with your immigration record, the travel history can help clarify them.

Where to find your I-94 travel history

You can access your I-94 travel history on the CBP website . You’ll usually see your last 5 years of travel history, but you can request a full history if needed.

If you extend your stay or adjust your status after arriving in the United States — such as by gaining a green card — then U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will issue a new I-94 or other documentation to reflect your new situation. In such cases, the new documentation will be your primary way of showing your lawful status.

Once CBP approves your lawful entry and issues the I-94 form, a unique code will be assigned to your record. This number is linked to a specific entrance and reason for visiting the United States, so you’ll receive a different I-94 number each time you arrive in the country. The number, which you can find on your paper I-94 card or on your electronic record, may sometimes be required by a state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or your employer may need it for their records.

If you need to replace a Form I-94, you can do it on the CBP website or by calling CBP at 1-877-CBP-5511 (1-877-227-5511) Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. 

Until May 2019, I-94 numbers were an 11-digit string of numbers. Now, though, CBP has switched to using an 11-character alphanumeric code — a mix of numbers and letters. You won’t need to worry about this, since unexpired I-94 forms based on the old numeric system will remain valid until their “Admit Until Date” has passed.

There is no fee for the I-94 form. That’s true whether you’re arriving by land, air, or sea, and regardless of whether you get a paper or electronic record.

If you’re arriving at a land border port of entry, you can optionally apply online for a provisional I-94 one week or less before your arrival date. Applying for a provisional I-94 costs $6, but can streamline the arrival process and minimize the time you spend waiting in line at the border.

Obtaining a copy of your I-94 travel record is also free if you entered the United States after April 2013. For earlier records, you can request a copy by submitting Form I-102 (officially called the “Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document”) and paying a $560 filing fee.

While an I-94 travel record is free, immigrating can be expensive. Learn the costs for common USCIS forms and fees here.

It’s easy to access your I-94 form using CBP’s online portal . You’ll need to make sure you enter your information — such as your name and passport details — correctly in order to log on.

If you can’t find your I-94 travel record using the online system, check here for official guidance on how to make sure you’re entering your information correctly, and to get further assistance if necessary.

If there’s an error in your I-94 travel record, you’ll need to contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to make the correction. You can schedule an in-person interview at a local USCIS office, or call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 for more information.

Note that if the error was made when you first entered the United States, you’ll need to visit a local CBP deferred inspection site or port of entry to have it changed.

Keep calm! It’s normally an easy fix. Since most I-94 records are now kept electronically, you’ll usually be able to download a copy of your travel record from the CBP website at no charge.

In some cases, such as if you entered the United States prior to April 2013, the process can be more complicated and expensive. You can learn more about your options in the Boundless guide to getting a copy of your I-94 .

It’s worth keeping a hard copy of your I-94 travel record in a safe place. To download or print out a copy of your I-94 card, simply log onto the CBP’s I-94 website and follow the on-screen instructions.

Electronic travel records are convenient in most cases, but things can get complicated if you receive an electronic record after arriving in the United States by sea or by air, but then leave the country at a land border crossing. At land borders, departures are still primarily tracked using paper I-94 travel records, so if you have an electronic record your departure may not be automatically recorded.

In such cases, you’ll want to make sure you have another way to prove that you left the country before your visa expired. One option is to request an entrance stamp in your passport from the Canadian or Mexican authorities. You can also keep transport tickets, receipts, or pay stubs to show that you left the United States before your visa expired.

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Home » Guide to Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record

Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record

Form i-94 explained, what is form i-94, arrival/departure record.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issues Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record , to certain foreign nationals at the time of entry. They do not issue an I-94 arrival/departure record to U.S. citizens, permanent residents (green card holders), returning resident aliens (SB-1 visa holders), or most Canadian citizens visiting or in transit. USCIS may also issue a Form I-94 as part of granting a foreign national an extension of stay or change of status. All other foreign nationals should be aware of their I-94 when: 

• Admitted to the U.S.;
• Adjusting status while in the U.S.; or
• Extending their stay.

The purpose of Form I-94 is to communicate the terms of a foreign national's visit to the United States. It indicates information such as admission category and the expected departure date. But it also serves as proof of a non-citizen's lawful entry to the U.S. It's an essential document when applying for many other immigration statuses.

Foreign nationals who visit the United States through the Visa Waiver Program do not get Form I-94. Instead, they receive Form I-94W (Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record).

How to Find Your Arrival/Departure Record

Where to get form i-94.

Most people can retrieve their I-94 arrival/departure record online from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website. However, CBP continues to issue paper-based arrival/departure records for some situations.

There’s no need to request an I-94. CBP automatically issues the electronic I-94 at entry through an airport or seaport. If you entered through a border crossing, CBP generally issues a paper Form I-94 with some exceptions as described below.

Electronic I-94 Record

Since May 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has automatically issued an electronic Form I-94 to travelers entering at air and sea ports. However, CBP doesn't issue the electronic I-94 directly to the traveler. Travelers must go to CBP’s I-94 website to obtain the electronic I-94 arrival/departure record. From here, you can print a document for your records.

The website also includes travel history from the previous 10 years of arrivals and departures. The travel history is an informational tool; it is not an official record for legal purposes.

Paper I-94 Record

Prior to May 2013, all foreign visitors received a paper I-94 arrival/departure record much like the sample. However, CBP continues to issue paper I-94 records in certain situations.

Since electronic I-94 arrival/departure records are only issued at air and sea ports of entry, a paper Form I-94 is still issued at the land border ports of entry. CBP also continues to provide a paper Form I-94 to certain classes of aliens, such as refugees, certain asylees and parolees, and whenever CBP determines the issuance of a paper form is appropriate.

Travelers can speed up their entry into the U.S. by providing their biographic and travel information, and paying the $6 fee for their I-94 application online up to seven days prior to their entry. You'll receive a provisional I-94 after submitting your application and payment.

Anatomy of an I-94

What does form i-94 look like.

The arrival/departure record contains important information regarding a foreign national's visit to the United States. The information is critical to knowing the extent of your authorized stay and staying "in status." The highlighted fields below are commonly needed when applying for certain immigration benefits. On the CBP website, you may print a copy like the sample Form I-94 below.

Admission (I-94) Record Number : Also known as the I-94 Number, Departure Number or Admission Record Number, it is an 11-character alphanumeric number. It provides a unique number for reach entry. Most Recent Date of Entry : This date should reflect the exact date that you were admitted to the United States. This can vary slightly from the date you physically entered the country if your inspection was outside the United States. Class of Admission : This code describes your category of nonimmigrant status. For example, it may indicate B-2 for leisure visitor or F-1 for student. Admit Until Date : This is the day your immigration status expires in the U.S. You must exit the U.S. on or before the Admit Until Date. For students and other exchange visitors, this date is “D/S” or Duration of Status. For other visa classifications, this will be a hard end date.

I-94 Troubleshooting Tips

What can i do if the cbp site doesn't find my record.

If you are having difficulty finding your electronic I-94 record using CBP's I-94 website , the American Immigration Lawyers Association recommends using the following troubleshooting tips:

• Enter the name as stated on your travel document (i.e. passport). If you are not successful using the passport, try using your visa or the submitted Form DS-160 (if available) for name variations. Try entering the name as stated on each document.
• Enter the first and middle name in the First Name field. In the first name field, type the first and the middle name (if any) with a space in between. Do this even if the middle name is not stated on the passport or visa.
• If this is not successful, try to switch the order of the names. Switch the last and first name when entering the information on the website. Some countries state the name in the passport as first name, last name, rather than the more standard order of last name, first name. This may cause the name to be recorded incorrectly in the CBP system.
• Enter multiple first names or multiple last names without spaces. If a person has two first names or two last names, type the first names without a space between them or the last names without a space between them. Example: type the first names “Mary Jane” as “Maryjane.”
• Check for multiple passport numbers. Check the Form DS-160 (if available) for the passport number stated. If the passport number on the Form DS-160 is different than the passport number on which the person was admitted, type the passport number as stated on the submitted Form DS-160. Also, check the passport number stated on the visa. If the passport number is different than the current passport, enter the passport number stated on the visa.
• Do not enter the year if included in the passport number. Some passport numbers may begin with the year in which the passport was issued, causing the number to be too long for the relevant field in CBP’s automation system. If relevant, try entering the passport number without the year. For example, a Mexican passport that was issued in 2008 may have a passport number that starts with “08” followed by nine digits. Try entering the passport number without the “08.” This problem should not arise for newer Mexican passports, as those passports do not begin with the year.
• Check the classification designated on the visa and compare it to the classification stated on the admission stamp in the passport, as there may be a slight variation. Be sure to try both designations. For example, the visa may state “E-3D” for an E-3 dependent, but the admission stamp may state only “E-3.” The automated I-94 could state the classification either way.

If none of the above efforts resolve the issue in locating your electronic I-94 record, telephone or visit a CBP Deferred Inspection Office and explain the problem. Over the years, we've seen several cases with visitors who were never issued a record. Contact the CBP with your flight information. Some of the Deferred Inspection Offices have been able to resolve the problem over the phone without an in person visit; however, other offices may require an in-person visit with the non-citizen.

Fixing an Incorrect Form I-94

What do i do if my arrival/departure record has incorrect information.

If you have an incorrect I-94 record, there is generally a way to fix it. A misspelled name or incorrect entry date may lead to confusion on other applications. Both Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may issue a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. If a mistake was made by you or the government, you’ll need to correct it.

Correct an Arrival/Departure Record Issued by CBP

If Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued your I-94 record, you'll need to visit the CBP Deferred Inspection Office closest to your location. Most foreign nationals receive an I-94 from CBP at the time of entry in one of the following ways.

• Electronic I-94 : Issued to the vast majority of foreign national visitors at air and sea ports of entry.
• Paper I-94 : Issued at land border ports of entry and to certain classes of aliens, such as refugees, certain asylees and parolees, and whenever CBP determines that issuance of a paper form is appropriate.

Sometimes CBP may issue an incorrect I-94. Common errors include incorrect entry dates or misspelled names. In many cases, these errors can easily be corrected. If you arrived at an airport, you can generally contact the CBP office inside the airport and request a correction.

When the airport does not have a CBP office, contact the closest CBP Deferred Inspection Site or call CBP at 1-877-CBP-5511 (1-877-227-5511). You may be required to visit the office with documentation (passport and visa) and your incorrect I-94 record.

Correct an Arrival/Departure Record Issued by USCIS

In some cases, USCIS issues a Form I-94 as part of granting a foreign national an extension of stay or change of status. If USCIS issued your Form I-94, you will need to file a Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document .

When filing Form I-102 due to an incorrect I-94 record, you will need to submit a filing fee and supporting documentation that provides proof of the correct information. Attach a statement dated and signed by you, explaining specifically what information on your I-94 record is incorrect. You must also attach evidence verifying the validity of the information submitted for correction purposes. Finally, you must submit your original, incorrect I-94 with the I-102 application.

If the mistake on your Form I-94 record is due to a USCIS error, you'll need to request a correct I-94 through an Infopass appointment at your local USCIS office. Schedule an appointment by calling 1-800-375-5283. Take your original, incorrect I-94 record and evidence of the error to your appointment. USCIS will correct the I-94 at no cost. If you are unable to prove that the mistake was made by USCIS, you will be advised to file Form I-102 with a fee.

Replacing an I-94 Arrival/Departure Record

What do i do about a lost i-94.

If you have a lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, it is possible to replace it. Before you start, it’s helpful to know if you have an electronic or paper I-94. Knowing this will help determine how to replace the Arrival/Departure Record. Replacing an electronic version is a simple matter. However, replacing paper I-94 records can take several months and generally require a filing fee.

Replace an Electronic Travel Record

Modern I-94 Arrival/Departure Records are available electronically if the foreign national traveled by air or sea. An electronic I-94 can be obtained by going to the CBP I-94 website .

"Replacing" an electronic I-94 form is easy and free. Simply return to the CBP I-94 website and enter the necessary information to lookup your Arrival/Departure Record. You may print the electronic I-94 for when submitting with USCIS applications.

Replace a Paper Travel Record

Before CBP issued I-94 records electronically, they provided a paper form to foreign nationals arriving to the United States. In fact, CBP continues to issue paper Form I-94 at land border ports of entry and to certain classes of aliens, such as refugees, certain asylees and parolees, and whenever CBP determines that issuance of a paper form is appropriate. A paper-based version of the arrival/departure record is labeled "Form I-94A."

Replacing a paper I-94A form is a little more complicated. You will need to file a Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document . File the form with USCIS along with a $445 filing fee (at the time of writing this) and supporting documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do not confuse Form I-94 with a visa. They are closely related, but they are different.

The visa is an entry document. It must be valid when seeking admission into the United States. The I-94 (arrival/departure record) is a status document. It describes the foreign national's visa or parole status once inside the United States, and it also defines the length of stay permitted. Once a foreign national visitor is admitted to the United States, dates on the visa do not define how long the traveler is allowed to stay. Instead, the I-94 is the controlling document. Therefore, it's an extremely important document.

Your I-94 can expire, but make sure you are looking at the correct date. On an electronic document, you may see three dates:

• OMB Expiration Date: The first date in the top right-hand corner is the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) form expiration date. All government forms include OMB dates. The OMB validity date changes periodically and an expired OMB date does not invalidate the I-94 record or form. OMB dates are not related to a non-immigrant’s status in the U.S.
• Most Recent Date of Entry: Like it sounds, this is the most recent date that you entered the U.S.
• Admit Until Date: This is an extremely important date. The Admit Until Date is the date that your status expires. For students and other exchange visitors, this date is “D/S” or Duration of Status. For other visa classifications, this will be a hard end date. You must leave by this date or you will be in violation of your status.

There is no fee for the I-94 form. That’s true whether you’re arriving by land, air, or sea, and regardless of whether you get a paper or electronic record. The government provides the form at no cost.

However, you can optionally apply online for a provisional I-94 one week or less before your arrival date if you’re arriving at a land border port of entry. Applying for a provisional I-94 costs $6, but doing this can streamline the arrival process and minimize the time you spend waiting in line at the border.

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Visa Traveler

Exploring the world one country at a time

Is travel history important for UK visa

Updated: March 1, 2024

UK visa application asks for your travel history for the last 10 years. You must also submit your original passport that has the visas and stamps from your previous travels. You may be wondering why is travel history important for UK visa. Many are in the same boat and do not understand the importance of travel history.

In this article, you will learn everything about travel history for UK visa.

Is travel history important for UK visa?

Yes. Travel history is an important factor in the UK visa decision. Travel history shows that the applicant is a genuine visitor and has complied with the immigration laws of the countries previously visited. Previous travel to the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Schengen countries is extremely important.

Let’s look at travel history in more depth. Let’s understand why travel history is important and what exactly ECOs are looking for in your travel history.

TRAVEL HISTORY FOR UK VISA

Travel history is one of the most important factors in UK visa decisions. Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) look at your previous travels to the UK and other VISA-STRICT countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Schengen countries.

To consider you as a genuine visitor, ECOs have to make sure that you have complied with the immigration laws of the UK and all other countries that you have visited so far. They pay attention to the length of your stay and the frequency of your travels to the UK and other countries.

Travel history is not merely traveling to different countries. Travel history is about how well you have complied with the visa and immigration rules of these countries. 

UK Visas and Immigration specifically asks for details of your travel history for the past 10 years. ECOs check for travel history in your passport and the countries you have listed in your UK visa application . They also pay attention to any previous visa refusals you have listed in your application. 

If need be, UKVI can verify your previous visa refusals, visa overstays, deportations and entry refusals for all the countries you have been to. These days, many countries have data sharing agreements and UKVI can look you up in those databases. Hiding any such information can lead to UK visa refusal and a permanent ban. 

Keep in mind that travel history is only one factor among many used for UK visa decisions. If you do not have a travel history, you can still satisfy the ECO with strong personal, social and economic ties with your country. 

Similarly, if you fail to prove strong social and economic ties with your country, having great travel history will not be of much help either.

Why is travel history important for UK visa?

The UK is a developed country. It’s politically stable and economically developed. The UK has one of the best education and healthcare systems in the world. It’s a lucrative place for many looking for a better life, especially those coming from developing countries. 

Many legally immigrate to the UK every year. At the same reason, illegal immigration and human trafficking are also on the rise. Many entering as tourists remain in the country illegally, work without proper authorization or seek asylum. They become a financial burden on the country. The government has to identify, shelter and deport those overstayers at the expense of their tax-paying citizens and residents. 

ECOs are responsible for screening visa applicants and making sure that they are genuine visitors. They have to make sure that you have the intention and ability to leave the UK at the end of your visit. They have to make sure that you have no intention of overstaying, work illegally or seek asylum.

In order to assess whether you are a genuine visitor, ECOs have to look at your previous travels to the UK and other countries. They focus on where you have traveled, how often you have traveled and how long you stayed in each place. 

Your travel history indicates a pattern of travel and you are most likely to follow this pattern in the future. This pattern tells a lot about you whether you are a genuine visitor or you have intentions of working, studying, finding a partner, overstaying, etc. 

If you have been to the UK before, ECOs pay attention to your previous visits to the UK. They assess whether your previous visits to the UK were significantly longer than you have mentioned in your visa applications. That’s an indicator that you may stay longer again or end up overstaying your visa. 

Can you get UK visa without travel history?

Yes. Travel history is only one of the many factors that ECOs consider in visa decisions. There are many other factors that are equally important. Most important is your personal, social and economic ties with your country. Your financial solvency matters too. Current security, political and economic situation in your country matters too. 

If your country is in a conflict zone, politically unstable or has social unrest, you may be subject to scrutiny. If many applicants from your country haven’t complied with the UK immigration laws, you are subject to scrutiny too. 

You have no control over such situations. But you can very well control your own personal, social and economic ties with your country. Proving strong ties with your country can compensate for the lack of travel history. 

What are some examples of travel history for UK visa?

For the purpose of understanding travel history, I have come up with two examples. These are, of course, fictional scenarios just to illustrate travel history. But these examples should give you a fairly clear idea on what is considered as travel history. 

Meet David. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He holds a Nigerian passport. He is single and loves to travel. 

He gets 30 days of vacation per year at his job. He takes one local trip and one international trip every year. He takes a yearly international trip for 15 days.

Each year, he travels to a new country. He has been taking these international trips every year since 2010. One year he had to travel to the same country due to a friend’s wedding. In total, he has been to 9 countries so far. 

He always spent pretty much the same amount of days on each trip. Most of his trips were during the same time of the year. And, he never overstayed his visas. 

ECOs may look at many things in his travel history. But we can clearly see that he loves to travel and he has been a genuine visitor so far. 

Meet Sara. She lives in Cairo, Egypt. She holds an Egyptian passport. She is married and does not like to travel that much.

She gets 20 days of vacation per year at her job. She mostly spends that time with family and kids. But occasionally she takes a family vacation to Europe. 

She and her family went on vacations to Italy, Switzerland and France before. She also visited Dubai on a business trip.

Her cousin in London is getting married and she was invited. She decides to travel by herself since the kids are in school.

She always traveled with family. Spent more or less the same amount of days on each trip. She has quite a few Schengen visas in her passport. She never overstayed any of her visas.

That’s a perfect pattern. Her travel history is quite less but she has been a genuine visitor. 

We can talk about many scenarios like these. Travel history varies for each of you since everyone’s situation is different. What matters ultimately is how genuine are you as a visitor. Your travel history does not lie. So even if you pretend to be genuine visitors, ECOs can pick up indications from your travel history. 

How to build travel history for UK visa?

You can build a significant travel history within 1-2 years. The best countries to build travel history with are the VISA-FREE, VOA and eVISA countries for your passport. This is the most realistic way of building travel history quickly. It gives you a foundation and boosts your confidence to travel more.

Keep your visits short and never overstay in these countries. Research visa rules and know the number of days you can stay in each of these countries. You can travel to multiple countries in one trip and build your travel history quickly.

After that, aim for VISA-EASY countries. Once you gain a few visa stickers in your passport, aim for a Schengen visa. After traveling to a few Schengen countries, aim for VISA-STRICT countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, etc.

Below is a detailed plan to build your travel history for UK visa. I’m using Nigeria and Egypt passports in these examples but the same steps can be applied to any “weak” passport that lacks travel history. 

EXAMPLE 1: Nigeria passport

• Total countries traveled: 17 countries
• Total visas: 9 stickers
• Total time: 2 years

EXAMPLE 2: Egypt passport

• Total visas: 8 visa stickers

Travel history is important for UK visa. It’s one of the important factors in UK visa decisions. Travel history shows that you are a genuine visitor and have complied with the immigration laws of the countries you have visited. Previous travel to the UK and other VISA-STRICT countries such as US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Schengen countries is essential.

Travel history is only one factor among many others used for UK visa decisions. You must still prove that you have strong personal, social and economic ties with your country. 

There you have it. Everything you need to know about travel history for UK visa. If you have any questions, leave a comment below. I will answer them as soon as I can.

WRITTEN BY THIRUMAL MOTATI

Thirumal Motati is an expert in tourist visa matters. He has been traveling the world on tourist visas for more than a decade. With his expertise, he has obtained several tourist visas, including the most strenuous ones such as the US, UK, Canada, and Schengen, some of which were granted multiple times. He has also set foot inside US consulates on numerous occasions. Mr. Motati has uncovered the secrets to successful visa applications. His guidance has enabled countless individuals to obtain their visas and fulfill their travel dreams. His statements have been mentioned in publications like Yahoo, BBC, The Hindu, and Travel Zoo.

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LEGAL DISCLAIMER We are not affiliated with immigration, embassies or governments of any country. The content in this article is for educational and general informational purposes only, and shall not be understood or construed as, visa, immigration or legal advice. Your use of information provided in this article is solely at your own risk and you expressly agree not to rely upon any information contained in this article as a substitute for professional visa or immigration advice. Under no circumstance shall be held liable or responsible for any errors or omissions in this article or for any damage you may suffer in respect to any actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the information in this article. Please refer to our full disclaimer for further information.

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Master Your Travel History with Google: An In-Depth Guide

Whether you’re a globetrotter or an at-home explorer, Google’s rich suite of tools can help you track, analyze, and plan your travels. One such tool is Google Travel History, a feature that lets you record and revisit your travel journeys. But how does it work? And how can you make the most of this digital travel assistant? Let’s dive in and explore together.

Introduction

In our digitally connected world, there are many ways to record and remember our experiences. Google offers one such method through its Travel History feature. This service enables users to track their past locations, helping them stay organized, reminisce about their journeys, and plan future adventures.

What is Google Travel History?

Google Travel History is a feature integrated into Google Maps and Google Account. When enabled, it automatically records your physical movements based on your location data. The information is private and visible only to you. It includes details like the places you’ve visited, routes taken, and even the time spent at each location. With Google Travel History, your travels are no longer fleeting moments but recorded memories to revisit anytime.

Benefits of Using Google Travel History

There are numerous benefits to using Google Travel History. For one, it allows you to effortlessly keep a log of your travels. Whether it’s a restaurant you loved or a scenic trail you hiked, you can revisit these locations virtually whenever you want. It can also help in planning future trips by providing insights on the routes you took and the time spent at different locations. Furthermore, it can serve as a digital diary, allowing you to add notes and photos to your timeline for a more personalized experience.

Setting Up Google Travel History

Setting up Google Travel History is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting you started.

How to Enable Location Services

To use Google Travel History, you must first enable location services on your device. This process varies slightly depending on whether you’re using an Android device, an iOS device, or a computer.

For Android Devices

On Android devices, go to Settings, then tap on Location. Ensure the switch at the top of the screen is turned on. You may also want to select “High accuracy” mode for the most precise location tracking.

For iOS Devices

If you’re using an iOS device, head to Settings, then Privacy, and finally Location Services. Make sure Location Services is turned on. Then, scroll down to find Google Maps and ensure that it’s set to “Always” or “While Using the App”.

For Computers

On a computer, enabling location services will depend on your browser. For instance, in Google Chrome, click on the menu icon at the top right of the screen, then go to Settings, Privacy and Security, and finally Site Settings. Scroll down to Location and ensure it’s allowed.

How to Turn on Google Travel History

Once location services are enabled, you can turn on Google Travel History. Open Google Maps, tap on your profile picture, and go to Settings. Scroll down to find “Location History” under “Personal Content” and ensure the switch is turned on. Remember, this feature is linked to your Google account, not a specific device, so it will track your movements across all devices where you’re logged into your account.

Managing Your Google Travel History

Google Travel History offers several options for managing your data. From accessing your history to adding or deleting locations, you have full control over your travel records.

Accessing Your Travel History

To access your travel history, open Google Maps and tap on the hamburger menu at the top left of the screen. Then choose “Your Timeline”. Here, you can view your recorded trips, complete with details about visited places, routes taken, and travel times.

Interpreting the Data

Your Google Travel History data can be viewed in various ways. Daily view lets you see your activities day by day. You can also choose to see your data based on places or cities. Moreover, Google provides insightful statistics such as the total distance traveled, modes of transport used, and even how much time you’ve spent at different types of places like restaurants or parks.

Adding and Editing Locations

If Google misses a location or gets it wrong, you can manually add or edit it. To do this, go to your timeline, click on a specific day, and select “Add a place” from the bottom of the screen. Simply enter the location details and save.

Deleting Your Travel History

You can delete your travel history either partially or entirely. If you want to remove specific places, go to your timeline, select the day, and remove the unwanted location. To delete all your history, go to the Google Maps settings, find “Location History” under “Personal Content”, and choose “Delete all Location History”.

Understanding Google Maps Timeline

Google Maps Timeline is an integral part of Google Travel History. It’s the visual representation of your travels, allowing you to navigate through your past journeys in a chronological manner. Let’s explore this feature more.

What is Google Maps Timeline?

Google Maps Timeline is a digital chronicle of your movements. It shows where you’ve been on any given day, how you got there, and how long you stayed. It also displays photos taken at those locations if they were uploaded to Google Photos. This timeline can serve as a personal travel diary, helping you recall the details of your trips.

Navigating Google Maps Timeline

To navigate your timeline, open Google Maps and tap on the hamburger menu. Select “Your Timeline” and choose the day, month, or year you want to review. You can scroll up and down to view your activities for the selected period. Click on a specific location for more detailed information.

Adding Photos and Notes to Your Timeline

For a more enriched travel memory, you can add photos and notes to your timeline. When viewing a specific day in your timeline, click on a place, then select “Add photos” or “Write note”. These additions can make revisiting your journeys even more enjoyable.

Leveraging Google Travel History for Future Trips

Google Travel History isn’t just for looking back—it can also be an invaluable tool for planning future journeys. Let’s explore how you can leverage your travel history to make your next trip even better.

Planning Future Journeys

By studying your past trips, you can plan more efficiently for the future. Google Travel History provides insights like peak traffic times on your regular routes, average time spent at different types of locations, and even the weather conditions during your past trips. These data points can help you optimize your future travel plans.

Checking Visited Places and Routes

With Google Travel History, you can easily check the places you’ve visited and the routes you’ve taken. This can come in handy when you want to revisit a place but can’t remember exactly where it was or how to get there. It can also help you avoid repeating the same route or visiting the same places unless you wish to.

Using Travel History to Inform Travel Decisions

Your travel history can inform your future travel decisions. For example, if you often visit parks and nature reserves, you might choose to explore more outdoor activities in your future travels. Or if you spend a lot of time at museums or historical sites, you may wish to plan trips around cultural and educational experiences.

Google Travel History Privacy Concerns

While Google Travel History offers numerous benefits, it also raises some privacy concerns. Here’s what you need to know about these issues and how to manage your privacy settings.

Overview of Privacy Issues

Google Travel History is based on your location data, which means Google keeps a record of your movements. While this data is private and only visible to you, some users may be uncomfortable with the idea of their physical activities being tracked and stored. It’s important to remember that you have full control over this feature: you can turn it off at any time, delete specific locations or your entire history, and manage who has access to your location data.

Managing Your Privacy Settings

To manage your privacy settings, go to Google Maps settings, then select “Location History” under “Personal Content”. Here, you can turn off location tracking or pause it for specific devices. You can also manage your “Location Sharing” settings to control who can see your real-time location. Remember, you have complete control over your data and can adjust these settings as per your comfort level.

Understanding Data Usage

When you use Google Travel History, Google collects data such as your location, speed, direction, time, and mode of transport to provide the service. However, Google emphasizes that this data is not used to target ads. If you’re concerned about how your data is being used, it’s worth taking the time to read Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Advanced Features of Google Travel History

Google Travel History also offers some advanced features that allow for integration with other apps and services. Let’s take a look at these functionalities.

Using Google Travel History with Other Apps

You can integrate your Google Travel History with other apps for a more comprehensive experience. For instance, if you link it with Google Photos, your photos will appear in your timeline at the locations where they were taken. Similarly, integrating with Google Calendar will add your appointments and events to your timeline.

Exploring Google Earth’s Integration

One of the most exciting integrations is with Google Earth. You can import your Google Travel History into Google Earth and visualize your travels in 3D. This can give you a whole new perspective on your journeys and help you discover patterns and insights that may not be apparent in a two-dimensional view.

Google Travel History is an incredibly powerful tool for recording, revisiting, and learning from your travel experiences. It offers a blend of practicality and nostalgia, helping you stay organized while also allowing you to reminisce about past journeys.

Final Thoughts on Mastering Your Travel History with Google

Whether you’re planning a trip, reflecting on past adventures, or simply trying to stay organized, Google Travel History can be your digital companion. As we’ve seen, it offers a range of features from basic tracking to advanced integrations, all designed to enhance your travel experience. However, it’s essential to remember that like any tool, its usefulness depends on how you use it. So, explore the features, adjust the settings to your liking, and start making the most of your travels with Google Travel History!

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Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, Information for Completing USCIS Forms

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issues Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record , to aliens who are:

• Admitted to the U.S.;
• Adjusting status while in the U.S.; or
• Extending their stay. 

All persons need a Form I-94 except U.S. citizens, returning resident aliens, aliens with immigrant visas, and most Canadian citizens visiting or in transit. Air and sea travelers will be issued I-94s during the admission process at the port of entry .

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer attaches Form I-94 to the nonimmigrant visitor’s passport upon entry to the U.S. The visitor must exit the U.S. on or before the departure date stamped on the Form I-94. This is the “Admit Until Date” on the electronic Form I-94. The Form I-94 number also is known as the Departure Number or Admission Record Number.

As of April 30, 2013, most Arrival and/or Departure records are created electronically upon arrival.

Visit CBP’s I-94, Travel Records for U.S. Visitors website to:

• Apply for a new I-94 (land border travelers only) ;
• Get your most recent I-94 ;
• View travel history ; or
• See how much longer you can remain in the U.S. based on the terms of your admission .

If you cannot get your Form I-94 from the CBP website, you may file Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Record , with USCIS.

Related Links

• Applying for Admission into United States
• Arrival/Departure Forms: I-94 and I-94W
• I-94 Fact Sheet (PDF)
• I-94 Expiration Dates (PDF)

Sprintax - The name for nonresident tax

• Go To Sprintax

On January 19, 2024 by Kristina Valcheva 0 comments

U.s. entry and exit dates – how to check your travel history.

(Last updated: 19 Jan, 2024)

In order to prepare your US tax documents, you will need to know the exact dates on which you traveled in or out of the US.

However, if you don’t know your travel history and you need to double-check the exact entry and exit dates, the good news is that you can easily do this online.

The US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) keeps a record of all nonresidents who travel to the country over the past 5 years.

These documents also include the reason for their travel and the dates of their previous visits to the US.

In this post, we will discuss how to track all your travel history paperwork.

When do I need my US travel history?

Applications for a visa, or Green card, as well as filing a 1040NR tax return require that you know precisely when you entered and exited the US.

If the information is not accurate, this could cause rejection or delays in visa applications, or other challenges when you file your tax return.

Also, every non-American citizen who performs the “substantial presence test” may be classified as “resident” for tax purposes if they don’t know the exact days of arrival and departure.

The correct determination of residency is a very important issue for every international student in the US. This impacts both the tax you have to pay and the documents you need when you file a tax return.

Now, you can easily track your entry and exit dates in the US on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection I-94 website.

You can easily determine your US tax residency status for free by using Sprintax.

Get started here

What is Form I-94?

Form I-94 Arrival/ Departure record is an electronic or paper document that is issued by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer to foreign nationals who enter the US.

Since most people who enter the US are not US lawful permanent residents, Form I-94 is given to them upon arrival.

It’s important to know that you need it when you are leaving the US, as this is how the government keeps track of your departure date, and knows that you did not stay in the US beyond the period permitted by your visa.

What to do if my I-94 is inaccurate?

You will need to contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as soon as possible to make the relevant change in the information.

You can call 1-800-375-5283 for additional information.

What to do if my l-94 is lost/stolen?

This is usually easy to fix, but you will need to report the missing document to the local police station.

You must also contact USCIS (1-800-375-5283) and apply for a replacement. In most cases, you should be able to download a copy of your travel record from the CBP website at no charge.

What information do I need to access my US travel history?

To access your US travel history online, you will need:

• Your first and last name
• Passport number
• Date of birth
• Country of citizenship

When you have this information, you can start with your US travel history check.

How do I get entry and exit dates in the US?

1. Go to US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) homepage . 2. Click on “Need history of your travel and departures” 3. Click on Consent & Continue when the Security page pops up 4. Then enter your personal information, such as name, date of birth, and passport number. 5. On the next page, you will be able to see your travel history and print it.

Other Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it necessary to enter all entries and exits to the us even prior to living in it i have been visiting the us ever since i was a baby and i don’t have all the passports and visas from that time.

Your residency status is determined by the complete history of all your visits to the US, including any visits as a student, trainee, tourist, and all other entries to the US from 1986 onwards.

If you don’t remember, or cannot locate the exact entry and exit dates to the US simply enter approximate ones.

Тhe i94.gov is not showing my visits. It says there are no results for the traveler information.

The i94 website will show all visits made with your current passport. If you changed your passport you will need your old passport number(s) to check all your visits.

If you don’t remember, or cannot locate the exact entry and exit dates to the US, simply enter approximate ones.

For the visit history on the residency page on Sprintax, should I include trips in and out of the country over winter break for example, even though I was on the same visa all the time?

Yes, you need to include all entry and exit dates to the US, even short ones, as they are used for counting your days of presence in the US and determining your residency status.

I’ve been to the US as a tourist before in 2012. Should I enter that as my record?

Yes, you need to include all entry and exit dates to the US, as they are used for counting your days of presence in the US and determining your residency status.

When doing my taxes through Sprintax, I was asked for my arrival and departure dates. How far back should you go with this information?

We would need you to provide all of your residency information, and all of your entry and exit dates in order to be able to correctly determine your tax residency.

How far back do the entry and exit dates need to go?

Your residency status is determined by the complete history of all your visits to the US including any visits as a student, trainee, tourist, and all other entries to the US from 1989 onwards.

When entering the history of all entries and exits to the US, how accurate does it have to be? I don’t know if I can remember the exact dates.

It’s OK if you don’t enter the exact entry and exit dates if you don’t remember them, however, you need to be as precise as possible.

Leave a reply.

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How have our travel habits changed over the past 50 years?

Emeritus Professor of Social and Historical Geography, Lancaster University

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Colin Pooley has received funding from UK research councils.

Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK.

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We tend to assume that travel today is fundamentally different from what it was half a century ago. We have easier access to faster forms of transport, and we expect to be able to move quickly and easily whenever we wish. But a recent overview of travel behaviour in England – celebrating 50 years of data from the National Travel Survey (NTS) – shows that while some things have certainly changed, much remains the same.

According to the authors of the report, the most striking change to our travel habits is that “we are travelling further but not more often”. In other words, though the individual trips we take are longer in terms of distance, the number of times we travel has remained much the same over the past 50 years. What’s more, there has been little change in the total time spent travelling, due to faster travel speeds. And the purposes of our trips have changed only slightly: the biggest change has been an increase in the number of journeys we take to escort others.

Predictably, we’ve seen an increase in car use, as a result of their greater availability and affordability. This has been accompanied by a decrease in travel by bus and bike. None of these trends will be surprising to anyone who has thought carefully about the nature of everyday travel in Britain. But if we dig behind the survey data, some less obvious patterns and trends are revealed.

What’s missing?

Although the NTS is an unparalleled set of data, even this has its limitations. As the authors recognise, walking trips tend to be under-recorded, and it is not possible to gain fully comparable data on walking as a means of everyday travel over the full 50 years. What is clear, however, is that our feet remain one of our most important forms of transport.

In 2014, according to the survey, 22% of all trips were made on foot, and walking constituted 76% of all trips under one mile. Though we walk less than we did in the past, travel on foot remains an important means of travel – but one that tends to be neglected in both official statistics and transport planning. All too often, the needs of the pedestrian are ignored .

And while there may not be data available beyond the 50 years covered by the NTS, it is possible to gain some insights into even longer-term travel trends by using oral history and survey techniques. Research using these methods suggests that the distance and time spent travelling has remained reasonably stable over the last century, and perhaps beyond.

Historically, most trips were over short distances, and the time that people have been willing to commit to travelling has remained much the same. Obviously faster forms of transport, especially the private car, have allowed longer distances to be covered, and there are more very long journeys than in the past, but for most people, most of the time, everyday travel takes place relatively close to home.

Home, sweet home

Why have travel trends remained so similar over long periods of time? Answers to this question almost certainly lie in the nature of society and human relationships: something that cannot be revealed by statistics. In essence, human societies across the ages seek to fulfil certain aspirations: to provide income, food and shelter; to be near and protect family; to socialise and to be with friends. Most of these needs and aspirations can be met close to home, and therefore shape our travel behaviour.

Certainly, as families have become more dispersed and labour mobility has increased , this has led to some people making ever longer journeys. But most of us are still able (and indeed prefer) to fulfil most of our everyday needs close to home.

One other aspect that statistics such as the NTS cannot reveal is the experience of travel. What is it like to travel today and how has this changed over time? Arguably, this is one area where there has been significant change. The advent and widespread use of the private car has meant that comfortable, convenient and private transport has become the norm for most people.

A century ago, only an elite could travel privately and in relative comfort, with most using shared space on various forms of public transport. For those who walk or cycle, the experience of travel will have changed less, though increased traffic has probably made the experience less pleasurable for many.

Half a century of the NTS reminds us of the importance of travel in our lives, and challenges assumptions that everyday mobility has changed dramatically over time. But it also shows us that, when it comes to what’s important to us, some things never change.

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What Travel Looked Like Through the Decades

Getting from point A to point B has not always been as easy as online booking, Global Entry , and Uber. It was a surprisingly recent event when the average American traded in the old horse-and-carriage look for a car, plane, or even private jet .

What was it like to travel at the turn of the century? If you were heading out for a trans-Atlantic trip at the very beginning of the 20th century, there was one option: boat. Travelers planning a cross-country trip had something akin to options: carriage, car (for those who could afford one), rail, or electric trolley lines — especially as people moved from rural areas to cities.

At the beginning of the 1900s, leisure travel in general was something experienced exclusively by the wealthy and elite population. In the early-to-mid-20th century, trains were steadily a popular way to get around, as were cars. The debut regional airlines welcomed their first passengers in the 1920s, but the airline business didn't see its boom until several decades later. During the '50s, a huge portion of the American population purchased a set of wheels, giving them the opportunity to hit the open road and live the American dream.

Come 1960, airports had expanded globally to provide both international and domestic flights to passengers. Air travel became a luxury industry, and a transcontinental trip soon became nothing but a short journey.

So, what's next? The leisure travel industry has quite a legacy to fulfill — fancy a trip up to Mars , anyone? Here, we've outlined how travel (and specifically, transportation) has evolved over every decade of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The 1900s was all about that horse-and-carriage travel life. Horse-drawn carriages were the most popular mode of transport, as it was before cars came onto the scene. In fact, roadways were not plentiful in the 1900s, so most travelers would follow the waterways (primarily rivers) to reach their destinations. The 1900s is the last decade before the canals, roads, and railway plans really took hold in the U.S., and as such, it represents a much slower and antiquated form of travel than the traditions we associate with the rest of the 20th century.

Cross-continental travel became more prevalent in the 1910s as ocean liners surged in popularity. In the '10s, sailing via steam ship was the only way to get to Europe. The most famous ocean liner of this decade, of course, was the Titanic. The largest ship in service at the time of its 1912 sailing, the Titanic departed Southampton, England on April 10 (for its maiden voyage) and was due to arrive in New York City on April 17. At 11:40 p.m. on the evening of April 14, it collided with an iceberg and sank beneath the North Atlantic three hours later. Still, when the Titanic was constructed, it was the largest human-made moving object on the planet and the pinnacle of '10s travel.

The roaring '20s really opened our eyes up to the romance and excitement of travel. Railroads in the U.S. were expanded in World War II, and travelers were encouraged to hop on the train to visit out-of-state resorts. It was also a decade of prosperity and economic growth, and the first time middle-class families could afford one of the most crucial travel luxuries: a car. In Europe, luxury trains were having a '20s moment coming off the design glamour of La Belle Epoque, even though high-end train travel dates back to the mid-1800s when George Pullman introduced the concept of private train cars.

Finally, ocean liners bounced back after the challenges of 1912 with such popularity that the Suez Canal had to be expanded. Most notably, travelers would cruise to destinations like Jamaica and the Bahamas.

Cue "Jet Airliner" because we've made it to the '30s, which is when planes showed up on the mainstream travel scene. While the airplane was invented in 1903 by the Wright brothers, and commercial air travel was possible in the '20s, flying was quite a cramped, turbulent experience, and reserved only for the richest members of society. Flying in the 1930s (while still only for elite, business travelers) was slightly more comfortable. Flight cabins got bigger — and seats were plush, sometimes resembling living room furniture.

In 1935, the invention of the Douglas DC-3 changed the game — it was a commercial airliner that was larger, more comfortable, and faster than anything travelers had seen previously. Use of the Douglas DC-3 was picked up by Delta, TWA, American, and United. The '30s was also the first decade that saw trans-Atlantic flights. Pan American Airways led the charge on flying passengers across the Atlantic, beginning commercial flights across the pond in 1939.

1940s & 1950s

Road trip heyday was in full swing in the '40s, as cars got better and better. From convertibles to well-made family station wagons, cars were getting bigger, higher-tech, and more luxurious. Increased comfort in the car allowed for longer road trips, so it was only fitting that the 1950s brought a major expansion in U.S. highway opportunities.

The 1950s brought the Interstate system, introduced by President Eisenhower. Prior to the origination of the "I" routes, road trippers could take only the Lincoln Highway across the country (it ran all the way from NYC to San Francisco). But the Lincoln Highway wasn't exactly a smooth ride — parts of it were unpaved — and that's one of the reasons the Interstate system came to be. President Eisenhower felt great pressure from his constituents to improve the roadways, and he obliged in the '50s, paving the way for smoother road trips and commutes.

The '60s is the Concorde plane era. Enthusiasm for supersonic flight surged in the '60s when France and Britain banded together and announced that they would attempt to make the first supersonic aircraft, which they called Concorde. The Concorde was iconic because of what it represented, forging a path into the future of aviation with supersonic capabilities. France and Britain began building a supersonic jetliner in 1962, it was presented to the public in 1967, and it took its maiden voyage in 1969. However, because of noise complaints from the public, enthusiasm for the Concorde was quickly curbed. Only 20 were made, and only 14 were used for commercial airline purposes on Air France and British Airways. While they were retired in 2003, there is still fervent interest in supersonic jets nearly 20 years later.

Amtrak incorporated in 1971 and much of this decade was spent solidifying its brand and its place within American travel. Amtrak initially serviced 43 states (and Washington D.C.) with 21 routes. In the early '70s, Amtrak established railway stations and expanded to Canada. The Amtrak was meant to dissuade car usage, especially when commuting. But it wasn't until 1975, when Amtrak introduced a fleet of Pullman-Standard Company Superliner cars, that it was regarded as a long-distance travel option. The 235 new cars — which cost $313 million — featured overnight cabins, and dining and lounge cars.

The '80s are when long-distance travel via flight unequivocally became the norm. While the '60s and '70s saw the friendly skies become mainstream, to a certain extent, there was still a portion of the population that saw it as a risk or a luxury to be a high-flyer. Jetsetting became commonplace later than you might think, but by the '80s, it was the long-haul go-to mode of transportation.

1990s & 2000s

Plans for getting hybrid vehicles on the road began to take shape in the '90s. The Toyota Prius (a gas-electric hybrid) was introduced to the streets of Japan in 1997 and took hold outside Japan in 2001. Toyota had sold 1 million Priuses around the world by 2007. The hybrid trend that we saw from '97 to '07 paved the way for the success of Teslas, chargeable BMWs, and the electric car adoption we've now seen around the world. It's been impactful not only for the road trippers but for the average American commuter.

If we're still cueing songs up here, let's go ahead and throw on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," because the 2010s are when air travel became positively over-the-top. Qatar Airways rolled out their lavish Qsuites in 2017. Business class-only airlines like La Compagnie (founded in 2013) showed up on the scene. The '10s taught the luxury traveler that private jets weren't the only way to fly in exceptional style.

Of course, we can't really say what the 2020 transportation fixation will be — but the stage has certainly been set for this to be the decade of commercial space travel. With Elon Musk building an elaborate SpaceX rocket ship and making big plans to venture to Mars, and of course, the world's first space hotel set to open in 2027 , it certainly seems like commercialized space travel is where we're headed next.

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• THE BIG IDEA

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Travel is not rational, but it’s in our genes. Here’s why you should start planning a trip now.

In 1961, legendary National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel captured two women gazing at the surf off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. This and all the other images in this story come from the National Geographic image collection.

I’ve been putting my passport to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy.

Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus, and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome.

Only a third of Americans say they have traveled overnight for leisure since March, and only slightly more, 38 percent, say they are likely to do so by the end of the year, according to one report. Only a quarter of us plan on leaving home for Thanksgiving, typically the busiest travel time. The numbers paint a grim picture of our stilled lives.

It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher Ryan in Civilized to Death . This nomadic life was no accident. It was useful. “Moving to a neighboring band is always an option to avoid brewing conflict or just for a change in social scenery,” says Ryan. Robert Louis Stevenson put it more succinctly: “The great affair is to move.”

What if we can’t move, though? What if we’re unable to hunt or gather? What’s a traveler to do? There are many ways to answer that question. “Despair,” though, is not one of them.

In this aerial view from 1967, wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers relax under umbrellas or on beach towels in Ocean City, Maryland .

A 1967 fall festival in Guadalajara, Mexico , starred traditionally costumed musicians and dancers.

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps. We’re not grounded, we tell ourselves. We’re merely between trips, like the unemployed salesman in between opportunities. We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

We put on brave faces. “Staycation Nation,” the cover of the current issue of Canadian Traveller magazine declares cheerfully, as if it were a choice, not a consolation.

Today, the U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade organization, is launching a national recovery campaign called “ Let’s Go There .” Backed by a coalition of businesses related to tourism—hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines—the initiative’s goal is to encourage Americans to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries.

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers. “I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically hurt,” Paris -based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

(Related: How hard has the coronavirus hit the travel industry? These charts tell us.)

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist living in Kathmandu . You’d think he’d thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory meditation retreat. For a while he did.

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected. He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed “for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule.” Nothing seemed to help, he told me. “No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn’t change my habits.”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated. It’s not me; it’s the pandemic. But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

I think hope lies in the very nature of travel. Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. Nothing is more forgettable than the trip that goes exactly as planned.

Related: Vintage photos of the glamour of travel

Travel is not a rational activity. It makes no sense to squeeze yourself into an alleged seat only to be hurled at frightening speed to a distant place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs. All at great expense. If we stopped to do the cost-benefit analysis, we’d never go anywhere. Yet we do.

That’s one reason why I’m bullish on travel’s future. In fact, I’d argue travel is an essential industry, an essential activity. It’s not essential the way hospitals and grocery stores are essential. Travel is essential the way books and hugs are essential. Food for the soul. Right now, we’re between courses, savoring where we’ve been, anticipating where we’ll go. Maybe it’s Zanzibar and maybe it’s the campground down the road that you’ve always wanted to visit.

(Related: Going camping this fall? Here’s how to get started.)

James Oglethorpe, a seasoned traveler, is happy to sit still for a while, and gaze at “the slow change of light and clouds on the Blue Ridge Mountains” in Virginia, where he lives. “My mind can take me the rest of the way around this world and beyond it.”

It’s not the place that is special but what we bring to it and, crucially, how we interact with it. Travel is not about the destination, or the journey. It is about stumbling across “a new way of looking at things,” as writer Henry Miller observed. We need not travel far to gain a fresh perspective.

No one knew this better than Henry David Thoreau , who lived nearly all of his too-short life in Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed Walden Pond from every conceivable vantage point: from a hilltop, on its shores, underwater. Sometimes he’d even bend over and peer through his legs, marveling at the inverted world. “From the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow,” he wrote.

Thoreau never tired of gazing at his beloved pond, nor have we outgrown the quiet beauty of our frumpy, analog world. If anything, the pandemic has rekindled our affection for it. We’ve seen what an atomized, digital existence looks like, and we (most of us anyway) don’t care for it. The bleachers at Chicago ’s Wrigley Field; the orchestra section at New York City ’s Lincoln Center; the alleyways of Tokyo . We miss these places. We are creatures of place, and always will be.

After the attacks of September 11, many predicted the end of air travel, or at least a dramatic reduction. Yet the airlines rebounded steadily and by 2017 flew a record four billion passengers. Briefly deprived of the miracle of flight, we appreciated it more and today tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, where we break bread with other incarnate beings.

Landscape architects work in their Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , studio in 1955.

A tourist photographs a towering century plant in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1956.

In our rush to return to the world, we should be mindful of the impact of mass tourism on the planet. Now is the time to embrace the fundamental values of sustainable tourism and let them guide your future journeys. Go off the beaten path. Linger longer in destinations. Travel in the off-season. Connect with communities and spend your money in ways that support locals. Consider purchasing carbon offsets. And remember that the whole point of getting out there is to embrace the differences that make the world so colorful.

“One of the great benefits of travel is meeting new people and coming into contact with different points of view,” says Pauline Frommer, travel expert and radio host.

So go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say . Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the frisson of anticipatory travel. My wife, not usually a fan of travel photography, now spends hours on Instagram, gazing longingly at photos of Alpine lodges and Balinese rice fields. “What’s going on?” I asked one day. “They’re just absolutely captivating,” she replied. “They make me remember that there is a big, beautiful world out there.”

Many of us, myself included, have taken travel for granted. We grew lazy and entitled, and that is never good. Tom Swick, a friend and travel writer, tells me he used to view travel as a given. Now, he says, “I look forward to experiencing it as a gift.”

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CIC are requesting travel history

• Thread starter abcvita2012
• Start date Sep 15, 2017

abcvita2012

Star member.

Hello everyone, AOR 4th of september. CIC sent me a message for travel history. It's stressing me out since I lived in one country for my entire life with visits to another country for a total of 136 days since I became 18. What does it mean to receive such a letter? Here is a copy of the request: Travel History Info Form: Information on your previous travel history (trip duration and purpose) including citizenship and resident document information.  Your Travels: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5562E.pdf  

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abcvita2012 said: Hello everyone, AOR 4th of september. CIC sent me a message for travel history. It's stressing me out since I lived in one country for my entire life with visits to another country for a total of 136 days since I became 18. What does it mean to receive such a letter? Here is a copy of the request: Travel History Info Form: Information on your previous travel history (trip duration and purpose) including citizenship and resident document information.  Your Travels: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5562E.pdf Click to expand...

gowthamp said: As Scorpman21 mentioned, its common. Along with the Travel History form Include your citizenship and resident document also. While submission, I focused on Travel form and forgot to add these documents. Later when I realized I sent them using Case Specific Form (after 3 Days of submission) hoping they will accept the document s using CSE. Click to expand...

abcvita2012 said: I already submitted the form only with a letter of explanation. I didn't submit any other documents. However, I attached scans of all pages of my passports post ITA. Is there a necessity to add something else now? Click to expand...

gowthamp said: In the document they mentioned "Travel form including Citizenship and resident document".. Considering that I submitted my Indian Passport (1st& last pages), Canada Resident Document and USA Resident document. I am hoping you should be fine. Click to expand...

abcvita2012 said: How do i raise a cse? Did you submit only current residency or all? Click to expand...

gowthamp said: You can do using " https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx ". I submitted all the residency documents. Its no harm providing the docs again even though I uploaded them post ITA. My background changed from "In Progress" to "NA" today. I am thinking there is no need to include "Citizenship and resident documents" but its safe to submit them. Click to expand...

donald70fms

Hi I have submitted my application and received AOR on 9th October. However I feel there are some oversight errors I made in the travel history dates. They are as follows: According to my passport its as follows: departed from india: 8th Feb 2015 Arrival in indonesia: 9th Feb 2015 Departure from Indonesia : 12th Feb 2015 Arrival in singapore: 12th Feb 2015 Dearture from singapore: 13th Feb 2015 and same is arrival date in india However while entering my travel history in the form I mentioned it as: Arrival in indonesia: 9th Feb 2015 Departure from Indonesia : 11th Feb 2015-(instead of 12th Feb as mentioned in passport) Arrival in singapore: 12th Feb 2015 Departure from singapore: 13th Feb 2015 Not sure how authorities are going to react to the same. Any suggestions would be helpful.  

Full Member

maplewinn said: I just received similar letter. And I had submitted all pages of my current and previous passports. Please are you suggesting I upload the passports along with the IMM5562E form? Please reply, I have just a few days to submit. I am concerned about the meaning of citizenship and resident document Click to expand...

gowthamp said: My passport is the Citizenship document, hence I uploaded that document. As I am living in Canada, I do have work permit - a residency document. I do have a USA visitor visa - a residency document. So I included all the documents. Click to expand...

maplewinn said: - My name - Travel history info form: information on your previous travel history (trip duration and purpose) including citizenship and resident document information. This must be received by 2017/11/30 - Your Travels: with a pdf link provided the 3 bullet points is how it was actually presented. And the link (3rd bullet) has a form where you include trip duration and purpose. Please did you submit info on previous travel history in another format (as per 2nd bullet)? And is it alright to restrict it to 10 years or from 18th birthday as they said in the IMM5562E form? Click to expand...

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Green Global Travel

World's largest independently owned Ecotourism / Green Travel / Sustainable Travel / Animal & Wildlife Conservation site. We share transformative Responsible Travel, Sustainable Living & Going Green Tips that make a positive impact.

What Is Ecotourism? (The History & Principles of Responsible Travel)

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. All hosted affiliate links follow our editorial policies .

What is ecotourism? How does it work? Why does it matter? And how can we, as travelers, put the core principles of ecotourism into practice?

In recent years, the growth of interest in responsible travel has outpaced that of traditional sun/sand tourism by an increasingly wide margin.

With some experts estimating that ecotourism now represents 11.4% of all consumer spending, these sorts of questions have become more and more common. 

And, as we continue to see more negative impacts of mass tourism on beloved destinations around the world, the answers to these questions will become increasingly vital.

Part of the confusion surrounding sustainable travel  is the plethora of names being used for it within the industry.

E cotourism, a movement that began to take shape back in the 1980s, is the oldest and most commonly used word for it.

More recent industry buzzwords include sustainable tourism, green tourism, nature tourism, responsible tourism, ethical tourism, mindful travel, conscious travel, pro-poor tourism, and many others. 

Regardless of what you call it, the central concepts that these philosophies share in common are that the travel industry as a whole should adopt more environmentally friendly practices, protect the natural and cultural heritage of a destination, and support local communities.

With the United Nations designating 2017 as the  International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development , this seems like a great time to deepen the conversation about what ecotourism is and why it’s important for the future of travel.

Here we’ll explain the definition of ecotourism, examine its history and evolution, explore its core principles and benefits, and look at 10 ways that each of us as responsible travelers can ensure our adventures ultimately make a positive impact.

READ MORE:  How Mass Tourism is Destroying Destinations

• The Definition of Ecotourism
• A Brief History of Ecotourism
• Ecotourism in the ’90s & Beyond
• The Principles of Ecotourism
• Ecotourism Principles in Action

The Benefits of Ecotourism

• Other Articles on Ecotourism

THE DEFINITION OF ECOTOURISM

According to The Oxford English Dictionary , the word “ecotour” was first recorded in 1973, followed by “ecotourism” in 1982.

There, the word is defined as, “Tourism to areas of ecological interest (typically exotic and often threatened natural environments), especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife; spec. access to an endangered environment controlled so as to have the least possible adverse effect.”

Ecotourism was perhaps best defined in 1990 by Megan Epler Wood, the co-founder of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and author of six influential books on the subject.

Her latest, Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet: Environmental, Business and Policy Solutions ,  was released in 2017.

Now the director of the  International Sustainable Tourism Initiative at Harvard, Epler Wood’s original definition was more simple and to the point. She described ecotourism as, “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.”

In simple words, the meaning of ecotourism is travel that makes a positive impact on both the ECO logy and ECO nomy of a given destination.

One mistake many people make is assuming that ecotourism is all about conserving nature and wildlife by any means necessary. But if a destination or business’ tourism development strategy does not actively provide concrete financial benefits for the indigenous people, it’s not truly ecotourism.

Other NGOs, such as The Center for Responsible Travel  (CREST, whose co-founder Dr. Martha Honey also served as the Executive Director of TIES for four years), have since expanded on Epler Wood’s concept to provide more in-depth definitions of ecotourism.

CREST currently defines ecotourism as, “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, socially and economically sustains the well-being of local people, and creates knowledge and understanding through interpretation and education of all involved (including staff, travelers, and community residents).”

Other responsible travel organizations may have their own take on what ecotourism is, but these three are the most significant definitions.

READ MORE: Megan Epler Wood on the Evolution of Ecotourism

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism’s earliest origins arguably began with the Sierra Club’s Outing program. Launched in 1901, these annual expeditions took hikers into the Sierra Nevada’s backcountry in order to show members natural wonders, “so that those persons could become active workers for the preservation of the forests.”

The modern movement began to take root in the environmental activism of the 1970s. Some sources suggest that the term ecotourism was originally coined by Mexican architect-turned-environmentalist  Héctor Ceballos-Lascuráin . He used the word to describe traveling to undisturbed areas in order to enjoy their natural beauty and culture.

In 1981 Ceballos-Lascuráin became the founding president of the Mexican Association for the Conservation of Nature, the most influential Mexican NGO in the conservation arena. In 1984 he founded the first Mexican ecotourism agency, ECOTOURS.

His 315-page book on Tourism, Ecotourism, and Protected Areas  was published in 1996 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He served for many years as an Ecotourism Advisor to both the IUCN and United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Megan Epler Wood was another one of the ecotourism movement’s earliest adopters. She was a young wildlife biologist hired by World Wildlife Fund founder (and former EPA director) Russell Train right out of grad school in the early ’80s.

Their all-star team at the time also included Russell Mittermeier  (now President of Conservation International) and  Thomas Lovejoy , who’s known as the “godfather of biodiversity.”

“In the 1980s the idea of sustainable development was new,” Epler Wood recalls. “There was a big conversation about finding ways to benefit local people who wanted to conserve natural areas. A few years later my husband and I lived in Colombia on a joint Fulbright scholarship. [We realized that] people visiting the rainforest were bringing a majority of the benefits those locals were seeing.

READ MORE: Top Ecotourism Destinations According to Experts

ECOTOURISM IN THE ’90s & BEYOND

After she returned home in 1988, Epler Wood went on to produce The Environmental Tourist  for PBS. She started pitching conservation NGOs a documentary on ecotourism that would be “the very first global investigation of how tourism could contribute to conservation of natural resources and local well-being.”

When that project lost its funding, she tapped into her contacts and started The International Ecotourism Society. The organization’s goal was to contribute to the development of ecotourism as a viable tool for conservation, protection of bio-cultural diversity, and sustainable community development.

Epler Wood left TIES in 2002 to start her own consulting firm. She was replaced by Dr. Martha Honey, the veteran journalist/historian who wrote the seminal book, Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?   in 1999. She was Executive Director of the organization from 2003 to 2006, and eventually founded the Center for Responsible Travel in Washington, DC.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Honey during a keynote presentation at the TBEX Travel Blogging Conference in Cancun, Mexico in 2014. When I asked about the changes she’s seen in the ecotourism industry over the past 20 years, Dr. Honey insisted that they were positive for the most part.

“It hasn’t lost or changed its core values, which are essentially that tourism should be done in a way that’s beneficial to environmental conservation and local communities and respectful of local cultures…The Slow Food movement, organic agriculture, travel philanthropy, concern about human trafficking and child sexual abuse, fair trade , carbon offsets, and animal welfare are all branches on the original tree.

There have been countless other ecotourism icons over the past 30 years, from Jonathan Tourtellot (NatGeo’s Destination Stewardship Center) and Jeff Greenwald (founder of Ethical Traveler) to eco-design authority Hitesh Meta.

Now ecotourism is considered one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry (about 5% annually), accounting for around 6% of the world’s gross domestic product. Even as the market for traditional tourism grew stagnant, the UNWTO’s global forecast projected rapid growth in the ecotourism industry over the next decade.

READ MORE: Q&A With Dr. Martha Honey on Ecotourism

THE PRINCIPLES OF ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism is essentially all about bringing nature/wildlife conservationists, local communities, and the responsible travel industry together to ensure development focused on long-term sustainability rather than short-term profits.

The goal is to develop tourist accommodations, activities, and attractions that benefit everyone involved– the local flora/fauna, the local people, travel industry stakeholders, and travelers alike.

With this mission in mind, the ecotourism industry has collectively developed a number of core guiding principles over the past few decades. Although international regulation and accreditation have remained elusive, these guidelines provide a general blueprint for responsible tourism development.

Many of these principles align with those of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council , which developed an extensive list of criteria for sustainable destinations, hotels, and tour operators.

1. Build Environmental & Cultural Awareness

Education is a key aspect of ecotourism initiatives, for locals and visitors alike. Most of these efforts are focused on improving awareness, sensitizing people to environmental issues, and encouraging them to be conscious of their impact on the places they visit.

Some tour operators create conservation education programs for local schools. Many offer interpretative guides, naturalists, and guest lecturers to help deepen travelers’ understanding of their experiences.

Immersive interactions with local cultures are also becoming increasingly common. These experiences often emphasize interaction rather than a typical performer-audience relationship with visitors.

2. Design & Operate Low-Impact Eco Tours/Facilities

Remember the old environmental adage, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints”? Today’s ecotourism industry strives to take it one step further.

The focus is all about sustainability, minimizing the negative carbon footprint travel often leaves on the environment. But these days the big picture goal is to create positive, rather than merely neutral impact.

From using alternative energy sources and ensuring all building materials are locally sourced to limiting eco tour group sizes, conscious consideration should be made to ensure low impact at every stage, from development to implementation.

3. Provide Financial Benefits for Conservation

The idea of using the revenue generated by ecotourism to help fund the conservation of nature and wildlife is not a new idea. In fact, it dates back more than 100 years, to the creation of the US National Parks Service .

Referred to by documentarian Ken Burns as “America’s Best Idea,” this concept has since been applied to more than 6,000 national parks in nearly 100 different countries around the world.

When managed properly, ecotourism can help provide a revenue-generating alternative to urbanization, deforestation, unsustainable agriculture, and poaching. And though critics claim ecotourism often fails to deliver on its promise, recent scientific studies continue to illustrate its conservation benefits.

4. Provide Financial Benefits for Local People

Critics have similarly pointed out that some ecotourism initiatives have created more problems for local people than they solve. Poorly managed programs can lead to conflicts over land and resources, unfair profit distribution, and cultural exploitation.

This is what happens when the phenomenon known as greenwashing – the disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image– rears its ugly head.

True ecotourism MUST provide financial benefits to local people, whether through direct (tours, admission fees, and donations) or indirect means (such as taxes on travel or accommodation). It generally works best when there is smaller scale, slower growth, and greater involvement by local communities in all steps of the tourism development process.

5. Support Human Rights

Ecotourism initiatives should always strive to support human rights, economic empowerment, and democratic movements in a given destination.

In addition to increasing awareness about sociopolitical and environmental issues facing a given destination, ecotourism initiatives should support local businesses and the rights of indigenous inhabitants to control their land and assets.

This principle is arguably the most problematic and contentious. Should tour companies or travelers boycott a given destination due to human rights abuses or unfair treatment of its indigenous population? In many cases, such boycotts don’t punish the powers-that-be nearly as harshly as the locals who rely heavily on tourism revenue to survive.

READ MORE: Why Responsible Travel Matters

ECOTOURISM PRINCIPLES IN ACTION

Becoming a more responsible traveler is the best way to ensure your adventures are positive for the local people and the planet. 

Whe n the core principles of ecotourism are applied, it can stimulate financial growth in developing nations, strengthening the global economy.

Individually, one person taking these baby steps to going green might not seem to make much of an impact. But if we all take simple strides towards being more conscious of our choices, collectively we can m ake a world of difference. Here’s how!

Lightening up your load saves money on baggage fees and increases plane fuel-efficiency.

Pack items that can be washed in the sink and are quick drying so they can be worn multiple times during your trip.

We recommend (but do not receive compensation from) the ExOfficio brand, and wear it everywhere we travel.

Take shorter showers, turn off the faucet while shaving and brushing your teeth, and re-use towels for multiple days.

And NEVER use the hotel laundry, as they typically wash each guest’s clothes separately, even if there are only a few items.

READ MORE:   The Best Travel Clothing For 7 Travel Styles (An Epic Guide)

SAVE ENERGY

When you leave your hotel room, turn off the lights, heat/AC and TV.

Consider leaving the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door so that the housekeeping staff won’t clean your room every day.

This will save on harsh chemical cleaning supplies and the electricity of vacuuming and washing bed linens.

REDUCE/REUSE/RECYCLE

Take a BPA-free water bottle you can refill, use just one bar of soap for both sink and shower.

Return brochures and maps once you’re finished using them, and hold on to your trash until you find a place to recycle it.

Seek out indigenous artisans and learn about their craft.

When we were in the Riviera Maya near Coba, we saw tons of assembly line art.

But instead we wound up buying from a man who taught local children and tourists the ancient craft of Mayan pottery and distributed profits equally among families in his village.

READ MORE:   What Is An Eco Lodge? A Guide to Eco-Friendly Accommodations

LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS

Stick to marked trails to avoid harming native flora, and consider taking a bag to pick up trash along your journey.

Not only is it a great way to help keep the outdoors beautiful, but it also protects wildlife that might eat or get tangled in the garbage.

BE A TRAVELER, NOT A TOURIST

Take time to immerse yourself in the local music, art and cuisine. Embrace the cultural differences that make it unique.

Get to know the locals and how they view life. You might be surprised at the things you learn when you open your mind to new ideas!

HONOR LOCAL TRADITIONS

Some cultures have very different traditions from yours.

Women are forbidden to show skin in some Muslim countries. For some, being photographed in like having your soul stolen.

Understand and respect these traditions, or risk offending the people whose culture you’re there to experience.

READ MORE: Embracing the Culture of the Maasai People of Tanzania

Developing nations are badly in need of basic necessities most people take for granted.

Traveling gives you a unique experience that stays with you for the rest of your life.

In return, consider giving something back, such as bringing school supplies on tours in which you know you’ll interact with locals.

SHOP SMARTER

Read labels, and ask questions like “What is this item made from?”

All over the planet people sell items made from non-sustainable hardwoods, endangered species, and ancient artifacts.

It may be alright in their country to sell them, but you can still vote with your wallet by refusing to buy them.

READ MORE: The Problem with Animal Selfies

THE BENEFITS OF ECOTOURISM

To quote CREST founder Dr. Martha Honey during our Keynote session at TBEX Cancun in 2014, we earnestly believe that ecotourism is “ simply a better way to travel . ” Here’s a look at how this transformational approach to travel benefits conservation, increases cross-cultural understanding, and ultimately turns travelers into environmental advocates:

Benefits to Wildlife

To see how ecotourism benefits nature and wildlife, let’s look at endangered species such as African Elephants . Ivory from Elephant tusks is worth $1500 a pound on the black market, which has led to a dramatic increase in poaching.

But  Elephants are worth 76 times more alive than dead . When you consider the revenue from wildlife photography tours , luxury safari camps, and other ecotourism offerings, a single Elephant is worth $1.3 million over the course of its lifetime!

Other heavily poached species, such as Lions and Rhinos , have shown to be similarly valuable alive. Ecotourism offers a long-term alternative to exploitation, generating sustainable revenue and ensuring better overall health of the ecosystem.

Benefits to the Environment

Nature reserves and national parks help prevent deforestation and pollution, while also protecting the habitat of endemic species.

The revenue that ecotourism provides can help replace profits from exploitative practices such as mining or slash ‘n’ burn agriculture. It can also help ensure the long-term financial viability of the area.

Naturalist guides also help travelers understand the value of a pristine ecosystem, and teach them about the importance of conservation. This ultimately help to create a more mindful and conscious legion of travelers.

Benefits to Local People

When managed properly, ecotourism can offer locals alternative revenue streams. In wildlife-rich countries such as Rwanda , former poachers are often employed as guides or trackers, capitalizing on their knowledge of the animals and their habitat.

In Costa Rica , unemployment has fallen to less than 10% since the country started building its ecotourism infrastructure in the 1970s. The country now enjoys the highest standard of living in Central America .

Involving local communities in tourism management empowers them by ensuring that more revenue is reinvested locally. Ecotourism also offers indigenous peoples an opportunity to remain on ancestral land, conserve it, and preserve traditional culture.

Benefits to Travelers

In the words of United Nations Secretary General Talib Rifai, the Year of Sustainable Tourism provided “a unique opportunity to advance the contribution of the tourism sector to the three pillars of sustainability– economic, social and environmental– while raising awareness of the true dimensions of a sector which is often undervalued.”

Sure, being a responsible traveler takes a greater level of commitment to being conscious and mindful of the impact we have on the destinations we visit. But ecotourism also offers us incredible, transformative experiences, allowing us to develop closer personal relationships to the nature, wildlife, and local people we encounter during our adventures.

Learning about ecotourism during my life-changing experience in South Africa   in 2000 permanently changed my understanding of mankind’s role in our planetary ecosystem. And I firmly believe that, once you’ve had that sort of travel experience, you’ll never want to travel the traditional way again.   –Bret Love; photos by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett unless otherwise noted

OTHER ARTICLES ON ECOTOURISM

How Mass Tourism is Destroying Destinations Travelers Love

Why Responsible Tourism is Better

7 Harmful Practices Tourists Should Never Support

Why Slow Travel is Better

Why Community Based Tourism is Vital to Responsible Travel

What Is An Eco Lodge? A Guide to Eco-Friendly Accommodations

What Is Glamping? An Intro to Luxury Camping

10 Steps to Becoming a More Responsible Traveler

Green Travel Tips: The Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Travel

How to Choose a Green Hotel

How to Choose a Responsible Scuba Diving Tour Operator

How to Eat Ethically When You Travel

Top 10 Latin American Ecotourism Adventures

Top 10 Off the Beaten Path Ecotourism Destinations

Ecotourism in Costa Rica

Ecotourism in Jordan

Ecotourism in Antarctica

Ecotourism in Australia

Ecotourism in Cancun

Ecotourism in Egypt

Ecotourism in Ireland

Ecotourism in Jamaica

Ecotourism in New Zealand

Ecotourism in Northern Italy

Ecotourism in Sabah, Borneo

Ecotourism in Spain

Ecotourism in Taipei

Ecotourism in Tonga

About the Author

Green Global Travel is the world's #1 independently owned ecotourism website encouraging others to embrace sustainable travel, wildlife conservation, cultural preservation, and going green tips for more sustainable living.

We've been spotlighted in major media outlets such as the BBC, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian, Lonely Planet, National Geographic, Travel Channel, Washington Post and others.

Owned by Bret Love (a veteran journalist/photographer) and Mary Gabbett (business manager/videographer), USA Today named us one of the world's Top 5 Travel Blogging Couples. We were also featured in the 2017 National Geographic book, Ultimate Journeys for Two, for which we contributed a chapter on our adventures in Rwanda. Other awards we've won include Best Feature from both the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Magazine Association of the Southeast.

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A Brief History of Travel

In our modern world, global travel has become so easy that it’s easy to forget that mass tourism is a relatively new occurrence. At least it is for the masses. But why do we travel? And when did travel become ‘a thing’? Have we always been travelling, or is it really just a modern invention?

Today, tourism is a huge industry, supporting millions, perhaps billions of people around the world. From airlines and taxi drivers, to restaurants, hotels and bloggers, tourism plays an integral part in our modern global economy. And this economy has been growing at a staggering rate throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1980 there were just over 280 million tourism arrivals around the globe. By 2018, there were an estimated 1.4 billion tourist arrivals, with the money spent on travel accounting for around 10.4% of global GDP.

But it wasn’t always like this.

Table of Contents

Travel in the Ancient World

For most of human history, travel had been undertaken either as part of exploration or trade. Or, sometimes, both together. Military conquests or the spreading of a religious word have spurred people to reach out across the region to either subjugate or enlighten the neighbours – and on occasion to dominate distant lands.

However, travel for pleasure has always been there in the background, albeit usually for the more fortunate monied classes. In ancient Greece, there are examples of people travelling to watch the original Olympic Games, or to question the Oracle at Delphi. There were also other games less famous than the Olympics which would attract visitors from far and wide. At the time, there was an extensive network of inns across Greece designed for travellers to stay the night, although they were basic by today’s standards with no bathrooms, toilets or catering facilities.

Well-to-do Egyptians too would explore ancient marvels (some of which were ancient even in 1000BCE). The Pyramids and the Acropolis were draws for tourists even in pre-modern times, and those who could afford to visit ancient sites would take time out with their slaves and entourages to go and explore. Visitors came from Greece and Rome to marvel at the scale of the pyramids of Giza, which were the world’s largest man made structures for thousands of years.

But it was perhaps the Romans who first took holidays or vacations in a way that might seem familiar to us today. The nobility of ancient Rome would escape the stifling heat of the city in summer and head to either the cooler hills, or the seaside. Sicily, Capri and the north of Italy were all favourite haunts, although some would even travel as far as Egypt or Greece for these excursions.

In fact the Romans also pioneered the spa holiday, often travelling to find thermal baths for health benefits. Around these spas would spring up additional services including restaurants, gambling dens and even prostitution. Roman travel was made relatively easy by their great network of roads and shipping routes across the territory. However, with the collapse of the Roman Empire, tourism in the Mediterranean took a break for a while.

Ancient Tourism in Asia

The ancient Silk Route is still well known today as a network of paths and shipping lanes leading from China to the Western lands. Although it was clearly a trade network, travellers would have traversed the steppes of central Asia perhaps for enlightenment or other benefits.

Srinagar in Kashmir, northern India holds an interesting example of the possibilities of the age. The city hosts a tomb said to be that of a pilgrim from the Middle East who arrived around 2000 years ago. It is said that the tomb houses the body of Jesus Christ, who survived the crucifixion and fled to India to live a life of quiet contemplation. Although the tomb is officially the resting place of a Muslim preacher called Youza Asaph, the speculation around the Jesus story is still quite strong.

Although this might be controversial for some, even if it isn’t the body of Christ, the fact of the matter is that people did make such a huge journey even in antiquity. This could have been to spread their own gospel, or to study Buddhism (the dominant religion at the time).

China too has a history of classical travellers, such as Hsuan Tsang, born around 607CE. Although it was illegal to travel outside of China around this time, between 627-643, Tsang travelled along the Silk Route, to Samarkand and Tashkent (both in modern Uzbekistan), and eventually visited Benares in India on a Buddhist pilgrimage. He even recorded his travels in a book, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions.

Zheng He is another famous example of a Chinese traveller, although he was more a diplomat acting at the behest of the Emperor of the time. Born in Yunan to a Muslim family, He led expeditions as far afield as the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa and Sri Lanka. Zheng He bought back many exotic treasures to the emperors including spices, wild animals and minerals and was even rumoured to have reached the American continent and Australia.

His ships were also famous, mainly for being huge. Although time may have blurred the truth, rumours of the time suggest that his flagship was many times bigger than any other wooden ship of the time.

Conquests, Pilgrimages and Persecution

Back in Europe, there was undoubtedly tourism during the middle ages, that is the years between the 5th and 15th century. Much of it would have centered around religious observances, for example pilgrimages to distant temples and the tombs of Saints.

With the conquest of Spain by the Muslims, many would come from as far away as Baghdad or Damascus to enjoy the lifestyle in this lush distant land.

With Muslims so far flung, the pilgrimage to Mecca would have been one of the main reasons for pilgrims to travel huge distances. From Al Andalus (Spain) or Morocco, all the way to Arabia, or even in the case of Zhang He, visiting from China, Mecca was probably one of the biggest destinations for travellers for hundreds of years.

And, with the religious theme being kept, the Crusades inspired a whole generation of European noblemen to head to their own holy land of Jerusalem and Palestine to defend against the invading Muslims. Although the Crusades are illustrated as battles and sieges, in fact there is evidence of some co-existence and even sharing of knowledge.

Moving towards the modern age, with the discovery of America by Europeans in 1492, people began to eye the new world more as a new frontier and the chance for a new beginning. Travel to the Americas was, at first, less about travel and more about escaping persecution, poverty and hardship in Europe.

The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries saw lots of movement, through forced migration such as slavery or displacement as well as colonising Asia, Australia, parts of Africa and the Americas. And with the opening of shipping routes, an increased exposure to foreign cultures through newspapers and books and more awareness of the world around us, a new era was about to begin…

The Birth of Tourism

Tourism as we would recognise it today started around the 17th or 18th century. Well to do Europeans would set off on a Grand Tour of classical cities across the continent, taking in stops in Paris, Vienna, Prague, Florence, Rome, Venice and London, among many others. In this respect, the modern travel trail isn’t quite so modern as it would seem.

Famous poets such as Britain’s Lord Byron spent two years travelling the Mediterranean, enjoying copious amounts of wine and seducing the locals. In-keeping with this style of travel, the Grand Tour tended to be reserved for the nobles and more monied classes. These ‘tourists’ would then return with tall tales of the riches of far off lands and often publish memoirs, poems and other forms of media, a precursor to Instagram posts perhaps?

Arguably, mass tourism as we know it today took shape when Thomas Cook, a British businessman, started organising mass tours from his base in Leicester. At first, his ‘travel agency’ would organise excursions across England. His first, in 1841, was from Leicester in England, to Loughborough, a town just 11 miles away. His next ‘tour’ was to Liverpool, and by 1856 he was organising tours to Scotland, Italy, Egypt and even the United States – surely a milestone in the history of travel and tourism as we know it.

Today, Thomas Cook is still a household brand name in the UK, with the company offering holiday packages across the world.

The Sky is the Limit

Of course, air travel changed everything. From days, or even weeks to reach a destination, suddenly far flung cities were within just a few hours reach.

The first commercial air link, in 1914, was between St Petersburg and Tampa, both in Florida, USA. By 1919, many nations began setting up commercial airlines, some of which are still in operation today. KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), Czech Airlines, Avianca and Qantas are a few of the founding transcontinental airline companies who are still flying the skies.

Although air travel was slow at first, as anyone who has seen an Indian Jones movie would understand, it was still a lot faster than travelling by boat or train. And, of course, it was expensive. Air travel was the preserve of the rich, and the glamour associated with air travel is still something people come to expect.

Today, of course, budget airlines rule the skies and everyone can fly around the world for what amounts to pocket change. Anyone can fly away for a city break getaway for the weekend, or perhaps to live as a digital nomad in a more exotic city. Ryanair in Europe, AirAsia in Asia and JetBlue of the USA make travel much more accessible for everyone, although perhaps to the detriment of that glamorous image.

Now, the world is struggling with the effects of over-tourism, with protests in popular locations such as Barcelona and Venice. But, the double edged sword means that the tourist dollar is still welcomed, even if those excessive tourists are not. So where next for tourism?

Are people looking for more independent and unique experiences? Or perhaps we’re going to start looking to the stars… One thing is for sure, the history of travel is still being written.

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About the author: oliver lynch.

Interesting stuff. Have you read the mentioned book ‘Great Tang Records on the Western Regions’? I am wondering if it is any good?

Hey Walter, I actually haven’t read it and I couldn’t find a Kindle edition (not quite ready to splash out $50 on a print copy). Let me know if you find a copy and what you think of it…

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Watch CBS News

U.S. issues travel warning for Israel with Iran attack believed to be imminent and fear Gaza war could spread

By Debora Patta , Tucker Reals

Updated on: April 13, 2024 / 5:25 PM EDT / CBS News

Update: Iran launched drone attacks against Israel on Saturday. Read CBS News'  latest coverage here .

Tel Aviv  — Israel is bracing for a worst-case scenario that U.S. officials believe could materialize within just hours — the possibility of a direct attack on Israeli soil by Iran in retaliation for a strike almost two weeks ago that killed seven Iranian military officers. Iran has vowed to take revenge for Israel killing its commanders, who were hit by an April 1 strike on the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital.

Two U.S. officials told CBS News that a major Iranian attack against Israel was expected as soon as Friday, possibly to include more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles aimed at military targets inside the country. Sources have told CBS News the retaliation could include attacks carried out both by Iranian forces, and proxy groups around the region that it has been funneling additional arms to for weeks.  

The officials said it would be challenging for the Israelis to defend against an attack of that magnitude, and while they held out the possibility that the Iranians could opt for a smaller-scale attack to avoid a dramatic escalation, their retaliation was believed to be imminent. 

Asked Friday how imminent he believes an attack is, President Biden responded, "I don't want to get into secure information, but my expectation is sooner than later." The president urged Iran not to move forward, saying his message to Tehran was: "Don't."

Tehran has not indicated publicly how or when it will return fire, so it's unclear how far Iran's leaders will go. If they decide to carry out a direct attack on Israel, there's fear it could blow Israel's ongoing war against Iranian ally Hamas up into a much wider regional conflict.

With the Iranian retaliation expected at any time, the U.S. State Department on Thursday warned Americans in Israel not to travel outside major cities, which are better protected from incoming rocket fire by the country's Iron Dome missile defense system. The latest guidance noted that travel by U.S. government employees in Israel could be further restricted with little notice as things develop in the tinderbox region.

"Whoever harms us, we will harm them," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday as he visited troops at an Israel Defense Forces airbase. "We are prepared … both defensively and offensively."

On Saturday, all U.S. embassies in the Middle East were put on high alert and required to hold emergency action committee meetings. Diplomats in Lebanon and Israel were specifically told not to travel to certain areas within those countries.

Sima Shine, a security expert and former official with Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad, told CBS News it was a dangerous moment for the region, and the "most worried" she has been. She said anxiety over an all-out war was likely just as high "on both sides, in Israel and in Iran."

If Iran does choose to strike Israel directly, it could involve a complex missile and drone attack similar to the one Iranian forces launched against a Saudi oil facility in 2019 .

"They will try to do it on the military or some military asset," Shine predicted. "But the question will be the damage. If there would be many injured people, killed or injured … I think it has the potential for a huge escalation."

Shine stressed, however, that she still believes neither side actually wants a regional conflict.

U.S. "really trying to avoid war"

The U.S. sent a senior general to Israel this week to coordinate with the close American ally on any response it might make to an Iranian attack. Speaking Friday on "CBS Mornings," America's top military officer said, "we're really trying to avoid war."

"This is part of the dialogue that I have with my counterparts within the region, to include the Israeli chief of defense, who I talked to yesterday," said Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., adding that the U.S. military was "doing things not only to prevent a war, but at the same time, one of my primary things is to make sure all the forces in the region are protected."

"My role, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is to plan and prepare," Brown said. "That's one thing we do very well."

Brown's Israeli counterpart, Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, "completed a comprehensive situational assessment on the readiness of the IDF for all scenarios," Israel's military said Friday. 

"The IDF is very strongly prepared, both offensively and defensively, against any threat," Halevi was quoted as saying in the statement. "The IDF continues to monitor closely what is happening in Iran and different arenas, constantly preparing to deal with existing and potential threats in coordination with the United States Armed Forces." 

The IDF said the visiting U.S. general, Central Command chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, was taking part in the IDF's situational assessment.

The dilemma for Iran, said Israeli expert Shine, is to figure out how to deliver its promised response to Israel's attack in Syria, but in a way that does not lead to further escalation. Likewise, Shine said Israel could choose to show restraint when it responds to whatever Iran eventually does.

If either side gets the balance wrong, the consequences for the region, and even the world, could be dire.

Weijia Jiang, David Martin, Margaret Brennan and Olivia Gazis contributed reporting.

• Middle East
• Benjamin Neta​nyahu

Debora Patta is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in Johannesburg. Since joining CBS News in 2013, she has reported on major stories across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Edward R. Murrow and Scripps Howard awards are among the many accolades Patta has received for her work.

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• Solar Eclipse 2024

10 Surprising Facts About the 2024 Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse will sweep across North America on Monday, April 8, offering a spectacle for tens of millions of people who live in its path and others who will travel to see it.

A solar eclipse occurs during the new moon phase, when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, casting a shadow on Earth and totally or partially blocking our view of the sun. While an average of two solar eclipses happen every year, a particular spot on Earth is only in the path of totality every 375 years on average, Astronomy reported .

“Eclipses themselves aren't rare, it's just eclipses at your house are pretty rare,” John Gianforte, director of the University of New Hampshire Observatory, tells TIME. If you stay in your hometown, you may never spot one, but if you’re willing to travel, you can witness multiple. Gianforte has seen five eclipses and intends to travel to Texas this year, where the weather prospects are better.

One fun part of experiencing an eclipse can be watching the people around you. “They may yell, they scream, they cry, they hug each other, and that’s because it’s such an amazingly beautiful event,” Gianforte, who also serves as an extension associate professor of space science education, notes. “Everyone should see at least one in their life, because they’re just so spectacular. They are emotion-evoking natural events.”

Here are 10 surprising facts about the science behind the phenomenon, what makes 2024’s solar eclipse unique, and what to expect.

The total eclipse starts in the Pacific Ocean and ends in the Atlantic 

The darker, inner shadow the moon casts is called the umbra , in which you can see a rarer total eclipse. The outer, lighter second shadow is called the penumbra, under which you will see a partial eclipse visible in more locations.

The total eclipse starts at 12:39 p.m. Eastern Time, a bit more than 620 miles south of the Republic of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean, according to Astronomy . The umbra remains in contact with Earth’s surface for three hours and 16 minutes until 3:55 p.m. when it ends in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 340 miles southwest of Ireland.

The umbra enters the U.S. at the Mexican border just south of Eagle Pass, Texas, and leaves just north of Houlton, Maine, with one hour and eight minutes between entry and exit, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) tells TIME in an email.

Mexico will see the longest totality during the eclipse 

The longest totality will extend for four minutes and 28 seconds on a 350-mile-long swath near the centerline of the eclipse, including west of Torreón, Mexico, according to NASA.

In the U.S., some areas of Texas will catch nearly equally long total eclipses. For example, in Fredericksburg, totality will last four minutes and 23 seconds—and that gets slightly longer if you travel west, the agency tells TIME. Most places along the centerline will see totality lasting between three and a half minutes and four minutes.

More people currently live in the path of totality compared to the last eclipse 

An estimated 31.6 million people live in the path of totality for 2024’s solar eclipse, compared to 12 million during the last solar eclipse that crossed the U.S. in 2017, per NASA .

The path of totality is much wider than in 2017, and this year’s eclipse is also passing over more cities and densely populated areas than last time. 

A part of the sun which is typically hidden will reveal itself

Solar eclipses allow for a glimpse of the sun’s corona —the outermost atmosphere of the star that is normally not visible to humans because of the sun’s brightness.

The corona consists of wispy, white streamers of plasma—charged gas—that radiate from the sun. The corona is much hotter than the sun's surface —about 1 million degrees Celsius (1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit) compared to 5,500 degrees Celsius (9,940 degrees Fahrenheit).

The sun will be near its more dramatic solar maximum 

During the 2024 eclipse, the sun will be near “solar maximum.” This is the most active phase of a roughly 11-year solar cycle, which might lead to more prominent and evident sun activity, Gianforte tells TIME.  

“We're in a very active state of the sun, which makes eclipses more exciting, and [means there is] more to look forward to during the total phase of the eclipse,” he explains. 

People should look for an extended, active corona with more spikes and maybe some curls in it, keeping an eye out for prominences , pink explosions of plasma that leap off the sun’s surface and are pulled back by the sun’s magnetic field, and streamers coming off the sun.

Streamers “are a beautiful, beautiful shade of pink, and silhouetted against the black, new moon that's passing across the disk of the sun, it makes them stand out very well. So it's really just a beautiful sight to look up at the totally eclipsed sun,” Gianforte says.

Two planets—and maybe a comet—could also be spotted

Venus will be visible 15 degrees west-southwest of the sun 10 minutes before totality, according to Astronomy. Jupiter will also appear 30 degrees to the east-northeast of the sun during totality, or perhaps a few minutes before. Venus is expected to shine more than five times as bright as Jupiter. 

Another celestial object that may be visible is Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks , about six degrees to the right of Jupiter. Gianforte says the comet, with its distinctive circular cloud of gas and a long tail, has been “really putting on a great show in the sky” ahead of the eclipse.

The eclipse can cause a “360-degree sunset” 

A solar eclipse can cause a sunset-like glow in every direction—called a “360-degree sunset”—which you might notice during the 2024 eclipse, NASA said . The effect is caused by light from the sun in areas outside of the path of totality and only lasts as long as totality.

The temperature will drop 

When the sun is blocked out, the temperature drops noticeably. During the last total solar eclipse in the U.S. in 2017, the National Weather Service recorded that temperature dropped as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In Carbondale, Ill. for example, the temperature dropped from a peak of 90 degrees Fahrenheit just before totality to 84 degrees during totality.

Wildlife may act differently 

When the sky suddenly becomes black as though nighttime, confused “animals, dogs, cats, birds do act very differently ,” Gianforte says.

In the 2017 eclipse, scientists tracked that many flying creatures began returning to the ground or other perches up to 50 minutes before totality. Seeking shelter is a natural response to a storm or weather conditions that can prove deadly for small flying creatures, the report said. Then right before totality, a group of flying creatures changed their behavior again—suddenly taking flight before quickly settling back into their perches again.

There will be a long wait for the next total eclipse in the U.S.

The next total eclipse in the U.S. won’t happen until March 30, 2033, when totality will reportedly only cross parts of Alaska . The next eclipse in the 48 contiguous states is expected to occur on Aug. 12, 2044, with parts of Montana and North Dakota experiencing totality.

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Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Take a Pet From the United States to Another Country (Export)

Traveling with a pet in a foreign country can be complex and time-consuming. You need to meet the destination country's specific entry requirements for pets. These may include vaccinations, tests, treatments, and a health certificate (also called an international health certificate, a veterinary health certificate, a veterinary certificate, or an export certificate). Find out what you need before you and your pet travel.

Not all animals qualify for pet travel.

What is considered a pet? A pet is a privately owned companion animal not intended for research or resale and includes only certain animal groups.

Find out if your pet qualifies to travel

Your animal doesn't qualify for pet travel and is subject to different import regulations and export regulations if you:

• Don't see your pet listed below.
• Are exporting semen or embryos from any animal.
• Have a pet that's considered livestock or poultry, like pigs or chickens.

The following animals qualify as pets, meaning they're subject to pet travel requirements:

The following birds DON'T qualify as pets, meaning they're subject to different regulations:

Because they may carry and transmit certain diseases to the U.S. poultry industry, these birds are regulated as poultry.

• Guinea fowl

View import regulations and export regulations if the type of animal you have does not qualify as a pet.

Before You Start the Process

Traveling with a dog know the latest requirements.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended the temporary suspension on dogs entering the United States from high-risk countries for dog rabies. If you leave the United States with your pet dog, you'll need to meet specific CDC import requirements to bring your dog back into the United States. This extension is in effect until July 31, 2024.

Visit the CDC for details on these requirements and other related information. If you have questions about CDC requirements, contact CDC-INFO or call them at 404-718-3660 .

Find a USDA-Accredited Veterinarian

With help from a USDA-accredited veterinarian , you can learn more about your destination country's entry requirements for pets, including any needed vaccinations, tests, or treatments. We recommend creating a schedule to make sure you meet all requirements within the specified timeframe.

Gather This Information for Your USDA-Accredited Veterinarian

• The type of pet traveling
• The destination country
• If applicable, countries where your pet will stop (for customs clearance or upon leaving the airport or seaport) on the way to the destination country
• The date of departure from the United States
• Whether the pet will be traveling alone, as cargo, or with a person in the cabin of the plane
• Note: If you're traveling with a pet bird or exotic animal, you may need to work with additional agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . Visit the pet travel requirements page for your destination country (see dropdown menu below).

Read These Resources

• In Spanish (En Español): Guía de viaje para mascotas que viajan a otro país desde Estados Unidos
• In Chinese (用中文（表達): 宠物出国旅行指南
• Frequently Asked Questions About Traveling With Your Pet

Where Are You Traveling With Your Pet?

Your destination country sets the entry requirements for pets, which can change at any time. You must verify the country requirements every time you plan to travel with your pet.

Find Your Destination Country Requirements

If your country is not listed in the menu, visit Pet Travel: Unknown Requirements .

Travel: Prehistoric drawings can be seen in Ohio at Leo Petroglyphs

Humans have always been eager to leave a creative mark on the world, tangible evidence of an artist’s thoughts or actions that might educate, entertain – or perhaps bewilder – current and future generations.

Humans hadn’t even made it to the Americas when the earliest-known cave paintings were created more than 40,000 years ago in what is now Indonesia.

But, millennia later, prehistoric Americans did make their mark. Ohio has several sites where early artists or scribes left enduring evidence of their creativity.

Spring getaways: State Park lodges make perfect destinations for families, couples

The state’s most well-known group of petroglyphs – prehistoric stone carvings – is probably Leo Petroglyphs and Nature Preserve in Jackson County, about 75 miles southeast of Columbus. (The site gets its name from the nearby village of Leo, not from one of the prehistoric artists.)

A large slab of relatively soft sandstone served as a canvas for the artists, who probably belonged to the Fort Ancient culture, a people who also may have created Ohio’s Serpent Mound (not to mention the earthworks for whom the culture is named).

Among the carvings are figures that seem to represent people, human footprints, birds and other animals, and a few enigmatic symbols.

Whether or not the carvings were meant to represent specific ideas, instructions or just the creative musings of the carvers is still a matter of speculation.

Erosion of the carvings dates their creation to around 1,000 years ago. Today, the carvings are protected by a modern shelter house that also provides a roof for visiting picnickers.

The nature preserve at Leo Petroglyphs protects about 20 acres, including a gorge where stone outcroppings contain other stone carvings.

A ½-mile trail makes a loop around the gorge, beginning and ending at the shelter house.

The wooded hike takes about 30 minutes and provides a glimpse of the kind of landscape that might have inspired those early artists along their way to and from the petroglyph stone.

Another well-known and easily visited example of early Ohio petroglyphs is at Inscription Rock on Kelleys Island in Lake Erie.

The rock, on the south shore of the island near the Kelleys Island Ferry landing, was partially buried when discovered by early settlers in 1833.

More: 7 small Ohio towns and villages perfect for your next day trip

The site is probably not as old as the Leo Petroglyphs, dating from perhaps 800 years ago.

Although Inscription Rock is also protected by a modern shelter, the rock has been so eroded that it’s hard to clearly see the carvings today. But an informational display at the site includes a depiction of the stone from a drawing made in 1850, showing more strange and enigmatic figures, animals and symbols that should provide a satisfying puzzle for any aspiring amateur archeological cryptographers.

Visitors to Kelleys Island should also be sure to visit Glacial Grooves Geological Preserve , an example of Mother Nature’s own artistry, carved by massive boulders dragged by glaciers during the last Ice Age.

Travelers who find themselves fascinated by ancient rock carvings should consider a trip to the American West, where several large sites display a vast array of petroglyphs covering a vast span of history.

One of the most popular and accessible destinations is Petroglyphs National Monument , just a few miles outside downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, where visitors can see one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America.

Short trails lead visitors past designs, both strange and familiar, carved into volcanic rocks strewn about like cyclopian Legos.

The carvings at the national monument are probably a bit younger than the Ohio sites and are credited to both Native Americans and early Spanish settlers from between 400 to 700 years ago.

Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at  [email protected] .