Travel analysis: How has the BBC show Race Across The World influenced how we travel?

Travel is continuously evolving and reaching wider audiences, through the content boom of ‘travel influencers’ and the ever-easier methods of reaching further afield destinations. 

But, shows like Race Across The World bring travel on a global scale back to its more simplistic roots, encouraging generations of people to adapt the way they experience the world around them. 

Race Across The World first aired on the BBC in 2019, and is now on its sixth series, writes Travel News Blitz’s Chloe Willis. 

It has gained traction over time, with fans of the show loving the often chaotic and exciting journeys of the duos.

The pairs have intriguing back stories and sometimes complex relationships. From father and daughter, to best friends, to in-laws. 

Contestants on the show must race from one destination to another (this year, from Sicily to Mongolia) without the use of a phone and with very limited money.

It goes back to traditional backpacking roots - using a paper map, just the cash in your pocket and often relying on local knowledge to navigate unfamiliar territory.

Key trends for 2026

Social media is highly polarised when it comes to travel content.

From the luxury five-star hotels of Dubai to the hostels in the backstreets of Lima. 

Or the excessive flaunting of gold jewellery to the camera to the raucous laughter of a group of girls immersed in a Vietnamese village community. 

And yet, the trends most identified by travel blogs and content creators alike align with the ethos at the centre of Race Across The World. 

The encouragement of the use of public transport, like overnight buses, over internal flights, has more than the budget-conscious traveller in mind. But rather, the globe. 

Sustainability is becoming a larger consideration in travel planning, with the growth of tourism being a large part of concerns surrounding this. 

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Cultural immersion is the key to any great travel experience 

Further, taking longer forms of transport allows you to see what would be hidden by clouds or reduced to dots from a plane window. 

The winding streets that part small villages, mountains and rivers that divide landscapes and people from all walks of life. Gaining a glimpse into their daily realities. 

That is why engaging with local communities is so important, and it is something that forms a core element of the BBC show. 

Whether that be attempting to combat the language barrier to get directions to the closest train station, or working at a tea plantation in Japan to try to pay for your next overnight stay. 

But the most special moments shared aren’t transactional. 

But rather, boil down to the most simple parts of human nature - laughing over the things that go wrong, and smiling about the things that go right. 

Strangers that pass by in mere minutes can become such a huge part of the journey. 

My view of travel - and how it aligns with the ethos in Race Across The World

It is all well and good writing about sustainable travel and immersing yourself in cultures and communities. But actually experiencing it, well that is something else entirely. 

My first solo trip took me to South America, where I met some incredible people and experienced some unbelievable things.

I stayed on a ranch in Uruguay with a local family for three days, where I ate the steak they had farmed themselves and cooked on a grill in their garden. This was the best steak I have ever and probably will ever have. 

I rode horses in fields surrounding their properties. With the ranch-hands teaching us how to trot and gallop. 

While I did end up face first into the dirt, I was still smiling behind broken sunglasses. 

The money we spent to stay and the tips given went directly back into the local community. No promises of charitable donations, but the actual hand over of hard cash to a Uruguayan family. 

Not only were we supporting the village, but I had an authentic and real experience of Uruguay. 

Not one in fancy hotels, where culture is kept at a distance, with my fry-up for breakfast. 

I was immersed in it - and surely that is the only way to truly backpack. 

The grasslands of the Serengeti 

More recent travels took me on a safari with my sister in Tanzania. 

This trip allowed me to truly slow down, spending hours driving around the Serengeti in a jeep, eyes peeled for the emergence of animals I had only seen alongside David Attenborough’s soothing voice.

As a cheetah climbed up the rocks, the orange sunset lighting up the sky, time almost stopped as we all held our breaths. 

But he just sat and stared, as if to say, “we have all the time in the world”. 

Our local guide was incredible, his knowledge of the area going beyond my expectations. He brought light-hearted humour to the group, as we laughed about shared memories and joy. 

From two completely different worlds, we still found so many similarities. 

The origins of my travel ethos 

My ability to see the beauty in everything - some may call it rose-tinted glasses - didn’t come from nowhere. Nor did it come from a television show. 

It came from within. 

The likes of Race Across The World may be influencing the way we travel, with a growth in budget-friendly, culturally immersive content. 

It also may have encouraged me to keep doing what I am doing, with trips to Peru and Vietnam in this same style planned for May and June. 

But, my passion for travel and authentic experiences has been with me since I was little. 

My parents have been a massive influence on my view of the world and my drive to see it. 

Our motorhome is more than a side character in my childhood. 

We travelled for two months around Europe when I was 10 years old, including Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and the list goes on. 

We ate ice cream in Venice and swam in the lakes of Bled, we visited castles in the Loire Valley and perused markets in Prague. 

Our days were filled with intention, but taken at a slow pace. We had the time to experience these places and all their glory to the full. 

And honestly, there are few more budget-friendly ways to travel than camping. 

Each year we would visit new places with the same ethos for creating warm memories filled with laughter and new experiences. 

So, even if for you, it takes Race Across The World to change your perception of what travel can mean and what meaning it can bring to your life.

Just do it. Go and see the world.

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