Peak Travel

After wildfires ripped through Lahaina in August 2023, the Hawaiian government had to decide if and when to welcome tourists back to Maui — and force locals to return to work in the same industry that displaced them.

Travel can do amazing things: broaden horizons, build relationships, and rejuvenate the soul. But often, those experiences come at a cost.

This is Peak Travel, a new podcast from WHYY about how travel shapes communities in hot-spots around the world. We’ll share the wonder that comes with exploring new places, as well as the harm that our worst travel habits can cause. And we’ll try to figure out how we can do it better.

Each episode transports you to a new destination. You’ll meet the people who call that place home, hear their stories, and come to understand how tourism has changed their everyday lives. Supported by rich, on-location sound from around the world, Peak Travel unpacks the $1.9 trillion travel industry and its impact on people and the planet.

Peru’s tourism industry is best known for Machu Picchu, a wonder of the world, where adventurers go for a once-in-a-lifetime hike. But the porters who carry the industry on their backs are often abused and exploited.

Because of inequities in passport and visa systems, Europeans and westerners can visit Africa with ease — but Africans themselves face hurdle after hurdle when trying to explore their own continent.

Social media has turned Bali’s shrines and temples into a playground for disrespectful tourists, but residents are fighting to preserve the island’s integrity.