Be a Multi-Local Traveller Wherever You Are

Today’s travellers are experience-hungry and expert researchers, knowing where they want to take that perfect Instagram shot before the plane even lands.

With the world becoming more like an easily navigable village every day thanks to the global sharing of consciousness and experience, Culture Trip explores how this is deepening our awareness and easing our access to authentic local moments.

We’ve sought inspiration from Adobe Stock’s multi-localism visual trend to discover how to be a multi-local traveller, rather than a tourist.

It’s all very well getting to know one area like the back of your hand, but what if you could get to know a second during your limited time on holiday? A great way to become a multi-local traveller is to switch up where you’re staying halfway through your trip. Staying in two different places for a few days at a time means you get to know double the amount of people and you’ll probably have double the fun.

Unless they’re something you’re dying to see, you’ll get a much better sense of a place if you head away from the city centres crammed with tourist all trying to take selfies with Big Ben or the Taj Mahal. Explore the neighbourhood where you’re staying instead. Discovering a local hotspot, specialist museum or picture-perfect street is much more satisfying than queuing for an hour to glimpse a famous landmark over the crowds of backpacked tourists.

You don’t have to become fluent overnight, but taking the time to learn a few well-chosen words or phrases can make the difference between sticking out like a sore thumb and being welcomed like a local. Showing that you’ve made the effort to assimilate yourself shows willingness and citizens will appreciate that you’re trying. You could also try using an automatic text translation app so you don’t have to ask for English menus and reveal yourself immediately as a tourist.

Multi-localism extends well beyond travel. You can apply increased consciousness and trying new experiences to your home town as well. Head to a coffee shop on your street that you’ve never tried before or go to a new exhibit at a local museum to experience your town in a way you never have before – the world is filled with ways to absorb cultures from around the globe. Take the World Cup, where 32 countries play on a pitch cheered on by the world. This unique blend of passion and identity hasn’t gone unnoticed and has been captured by 20 creatives across Europe. Check out Gordon Reid’s Weird World Cup series, which brings together some of the World Cup’s most memorable moments created using Adobe Photoshop and Creative Cloud.

If you experience something on your multi-local adventures that you like, bring it home with you! From traditions that become your own to ingredients that you eat and love, this brings worldly experiences to the comfort of your own living room.

By following accounts and hashtags relevant to the place you’re visiting, you can discover like-minded people and get some great recommendations about what to see when you’re there. If you comment on people’s photos, you might even get in touch with someone you can meet up with while you’re there. Try watching the Instagram stories tagged to a location to see what other people in the city are up to.

Let the world see what you’re doing! By sharing your story, you’ll inspire others to explore the same places you’re enjoying. Tag the spots you’re visiting, become part of the online conversation and connect with others through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. You could even start a dedicated travel blog or account where you can focus on the people, places and things you’re keen to experience. Adobe Stock has great images you can use as inspiration for your own feed and, even better, you earn money by becoming an Adobe Stock contributor.

Adobe Stock offers a highly curated collection of inspiring and visually impactful assets sourced from the world’s leading photographers, designers and content creators – perfect for designers and visual storytellers who are looking for exceptional ways to tell authentic stories.

This diverse marketplace of royalty-free assets is uniquely and natively integrated within Creative Cloud, saving you time and enabling uninterrupted creativity so you can search and license high-quality assets without ever leaving your favourite apps.

Stock like Only Adobe can. Get 10 free images here.