Traveling the World - a trend that more and more people are following

Around the world, around 400 people have achieved the feat of visiting all 195 countries and territories. 2023 will see the trend of traveling to every country in the world increase, with 50 more people joining the list. The figures were released by NomadMania, an online platform that allows global explorers to track their travels.

What inspired an individual to seek to set foot in every country and how difficult is this really?

Finnish writer and journalist Rauli Virtanen is believed to be the first traveler to visit every country in the world. Virtanen accomplished his goal in 1988, when the United Nations recognized more than 170 countries and territories. Since then, he has continued to "add new countries" to his itinerary, he said.

When asked about his "motivation to visit every country," Virtanen said it was "an extreme curiosity and a mentality of collecting." The concept of "collecting countries" didn't start with Virtanen's travels, but dates back to the 1950s. The Travelers' Century Club, which was first launched in 1954, is for people who have visited 100 or more countries and territories around the world. The organization is still active today.

Michael O'Regan, a lecturer in tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK, said that world travel is a driving force for wanderlust. But travel is essentially "limited to those with financial resources, flexible careers, good health" and a "strong" passport that allows easy entry to more countries. O'Regan also pointed out that more and more people are making money through travel. Others choose to travel the world after retiring early.

Patrick Gilliland, 62, from the US, is among the many who have chosen to spend their final years travelling the world. He spends 48 weeks a year travelling and has found that visiting every country and territory recognised by the United Nations "is not easy, it takes a bit of luck and time". Gilliland visited North Korea 20 years ago when "relations with the US were good". He admits that getting a visa to Iran or Nauru was difficult, taking many attempts over many years.

When Gilliland arrived in Libya, the last of the 195 countries and territories he had visited, last year, he was turned away at the airport. Many people who have taken part in the challenge to travel anywhere in the world have faced similar fates as Gilliland, being turned away or having trouble getting into several countries. Slovakian travel blogger Martina Sebova is one of them, having visited more than 100 of the world's 195 UN-recognized countries and territories.

The rise of social media has also been cited by experts as “playing a huge role in driving the number of people trying to visit every country.” Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have helped inspire more people to travel the world, leading to an increase in the number of people wanting to travel, according to O’Regan.

Virtanen feels fortunate to have been able to visit 95% of the countries through his profession. Most of his travels are funded by sponsorships and in return for articles.

Jamaican-born traveler Romaine Welds had little chance to see the world before moving to the United States in 2007 and starting work for an airline. In fact, he had never left Jamaica before and recalls looking at the country’s green mountains, wondering what lay beyond them.

"My family is poor and no one in my family travels, except my father," he said.

After visiting 100 countries and territories, Welds realized that he was halfway there. So he continued to visit the remaining 95 countries and territories and completed the list by the end of 2022.

The time it takes a traveler to visit every country varies. It took Welds 15 years and Gilliland 40 years. Several others have completed the challenge in record time. Taylor Demonbreun from Canada holds the title of "fastest traveler to visit every sovereign country" in 189 days.

Demonbreun’s horseback riding, however, was not appreciated by other tourists, who had little more than a promotional selfie in each country, according to Virtanen.