Crowdfunding your holiday: the trend that’s gone too far?

Travel is increasingly driven by the sharing economy: we can sleep in strangers’ beds, eat in other peoples’ homes and take tours led by locals. These experiences help us see the world from a new perspective and make new friends at every turn. But has this movement been taken too far?

You’ve got your itinerary set, decided which hotels you’ll stay in and found the perfect tour. The only thing standing between you and your dream trip is the money. Or is it?

Enter crowdfunding websites GoFundMe and Trevolta, who are allowing wanna-be globetrotters to set up their own page where friends – and even strangers – can donate money towards their next adventure.

Some people are using them to fund volunteer trips where they can give back to the communities they’ll be visiting, others have set up pages to help them emigrate, but a few are using these sites to fund trips they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford.

They’ve got a trip in mind, but can’t foot the bill, so they’re asking friends, family and strangers alike to donate to their kitty. One has even raised upwards of $10,000.

We’re all for supporting travellers in as many ways as possible, but...

Top image © Pedarilhos/Shutterstock