Why Cultural Preparation Is the Most Overlooked Travel Essential
Before traveling or moving abroad, there’s a lot to prepare—booking hotels, securing visas, finding a job, deciding what to do with your belongings. The preparation is intense, and there are countless experts online ready to help support the process.
Unfortunately, most people heading overseas overlook one crucial piece: cultural preparation. I believe there’s a glaring lack of conversations about cultural adaptation, which, in hindsight, makes sense. Before I lived abroad, I didn’t think about it either. But after I arrived, went through full-blown culture shock, and then came home to discover that I could have understood the culture and adjusted more easily, I wished someone had prepared me. The learning I did after returning put words to my experience and has shaped every intercultural interaction I’ve had since.
One major issue is that many people crossing international borders don’t examine their own preconceived notions, assumptions, or ethnocentrism. A bit of ethnocentrism is normal—especially if you’ve never been abroad before. Merriam-Webster defines ethnocentrism as the “attitude that one’s own group, ethnicity, or nationality is superior to others.” Ignoring this key step before going abroad paves the way for harmful interactions and misunderstandings that can break trust with the very community you hope to integrate into. Without reflecting on your own cultural identity, you risk being unintentionally rude or hurtful. Even with the best of intentions, it’s easy to say or do the wrong thing when you have not addressed cultural learning.
For example: do you prefer when people express their emotions openly through facial expressions and gestures (think Italians)? Or do you value a more reserved, neutral demeanor (think Japanese)? Some people have strong preferences in this area, saying things like, “I can’t trust you if I can’t read your emotions,” while others say things like, “If you show every feeling on your face, I can’t trust you to stay composed.” Many people have never even considered this critical aspect of cross-cultural communication. Without recognizing your own preferences, you might feel mistrust or dislike toward your host community simply because they behave differently—without understanding why you feel that way. Even worse, you would not have even the capability to describe why you don’t trust your host culture.
That’s why cultural preparation is essential for anyone relocating or seeking to connect meaningfully across cultures. Beyond Tourism offers three services to help you understand your cultural preferences and build intercultural skills:
Cultural Preparation Courses (small group)
Signature Workshops (for larger groups of culturally curious people)