September 7, 2024

COVID-19 & the Future of Travel with Nomadic Matt Kepnes

Group of travelers posing indoors beneath leafy trees, wearing Day of the Dead face paint and floral crowns, with casual clothing and smiling expressions during a cultural experience in Oaxaca.

Today, we are celebrating the launch of the Millennial Travel Podcast!!

Our first guest is Nomadic Matt Kepnes, and he is here to talk with us all about budget travel, how he contracted COVID-19, the future of the travel industry, and The Nomadic Network.

A little background on Nomadic Matt: Nomadic Matt has been a nomad for over ten years and is the author of two bestselling books, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Third Edition: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter and Ten Years a Nomad: A Traveler's Journey Home. He is also the owner of one of the most popular travel blogs on the internet, NomadicMatt.com.

I was happy to get an update from Matt, who recently returned from a trip to Asia and fell ill with COVID-19. Now that he has made a complete recovery, we spoke at length about the future of the travel industry and what we can do, as travelers, to support the small communities who rely on tourism for their financial well-being.

We also talk about how Matt quit his job and started making a living as a travel blogger. If you did not know, Matt recently launched The Nomadic Network, a global community of travel-enthusiasts who support and inspire one another to travel better, cheaper, and longer.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to discuss Matt’s charitable work at FLYTE, the Foundation for Learning & Youth Travel Education, a nonprofit organization that empowers youth living in underserved communities.

Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Sticher, Soundcloud, or Spotify.

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Direct support for the Millennial Travel Podcast comes from my new book--The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life.

Download a free chapter here: How to Find The Best Deals on Flights

AUTHORS

Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is the co-founder and CEO of Under30Experiences, a group travel company for young adults, and the author of The Millennial Travel Guidebook: Escape More, Spend Less, & Make Travel a Priority in Your Life.

He has spent over a decade designing, operating, and reviewing group trips around the world, with a focus on travel safety, logistics, and real-world risk assessment for young, solo, and first-time travelers. His experience includes extensive travel throughout Latin America and Europe, as well as hands-on work vetting destinations, local partners, accommodations, and transportation providers.

Matt regularly evaluates destinations using practical criteria that go beyond crime statistics including infrastructure, medical access, transportation reliability, and group dynamics which informs the travel safety guides he writes and updates based on recent travel.

He is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and approaches travel the same way he approaches training: prepared, disciplined, and aware of risk without being ruled by fear.

Matt remains actively involved in reviewing itineraries, assessing safety considerations, and creating destination guides for Under30Experiences, with the goal of helping travelers explore the world confidently, responsibly, and with intention.